Gender Bending 2
by Cyberbanjo
Summary: Zelos accidentally turns Lloyd back into Lydia, who gets revenge by giving Zelos a taste of his own medicine. Now, the hunt for a cure is on again, but without the Mana Leaf Herb, how are they ever going to fix things?
1. Lydia's Return

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Aaaaaaand I'm back! That's right! Almost exactly one year since the first chapter of the original was posted, Gender Bending 2 is up! I've had this idea in my head for a while, and I'm finally writing it! I'm taking a huge risk by posting this, as after 6 years, none of my sequels have ever panned out well. Because of this, I recommend going to read Soul Splitting by the Amazing Chris, linked to in my profile and favorites list. It's got better writing, it's got my favorite plot idea, and it's more likely to be finished. Go read and review it!

After rereading this, I noticed that it's kind of seems to be Zelos/Lloyd... well it's **not**.

Chapter 1

It was late night when Zelos Wilder entered his large mansion wearing a medical mask over his mouth and nose and carrying a flowerpot with a few flowers growing in it. A few flowers he recently "harvested" from the Ymir forest. A few very familiar, blue and violet petaled flowers. The red-haired ex-Chosen sighed. _Am I really going to do this? _He thought. A few months previously, the pollen from those very same flowers turned Lloyd from swordsman to the swordswoman Lydia. It wasn't long before the two developed feelings for one another, despite the _interesting_ (to say the least) circumstances. At the time, Zelos managed to convince Lydia to take the cure created by Yuan to turn her back into Lloyd because Zelos was a spy for Cruxis and a relationship would cause both of them pain.

However, now that Zelos had betrayed Cruxis, the worlds were reunited and Yggdrasil was killed, there was nothing to occupy Zelos' mind and he thought back to Lydia. Not even his many "precious hunnies" were able to distract him. Now there was no reason he couldn't be with her, Zelos couldn't help but scheme. ... _It would be so easy to trick Lloyd into smelling this flower..._ Zelos angrily shook his head. _No! Lloyd's my bud and I'm not going to make him go through all the grief of gender swapping again!_

Zelos angrily slammed the potted flowers onto a nearby table, took off the face mask and went up to bed. Due to the reunification of the worlds, Ymir was even farther from Meltokio than before and it had taken him the entire day to fly over there, find the elusive flowers, and fly home. Now he was too tired to contemplate if he should go through with his plan or not. _I'll think about it tomorrow. I'm beat!_ Zelos exhaustedly crawled into his bed, but didn't sleep much. He kept arguing with himself about what to do about Lloyd and the flower. Eventually, Zelos finally decided he couldn't use the flower on Lloyd. It would be just too cruel. After making the decision, Zelos found his mind was at ease and was able to rest. His last thought before falling asleep was _I've made the right choice._

* * *

Lloyd Irving yawned as he left the Meltokio Coliseum. He just won yet another fighting tournament there. _I wonder if it's cheating to use the Eternal Sword in those fights... it sure was easy. Man, I'm tired._ He thought about it. He was so tired and sore that he decided it probably wasn't safe to fly a Rheaird anywhere. _Hmm... Where am I supposed to stay? Oh! I bet Zelos has some spare rooms! I mean, he lives in a freaking mansion! _

A short walk later, Lloyd was at Zelos' house, and he knocked on the door. "Zelos? Sebastian? Is anyone home?" When no one answered, Lloyd turned the knob and saw that Zelos had neglected to lock the door. He walked into the dimly lit house and noticed a face mask and a pot of flowers on a table. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, Lloyd wasn't one and remained oblivious. He leaned closer to one of the flowers, trying to get a better look at it in the dark room. _It looks...familiar. _When his face was right next to it, Lloyd finally realized what it was. "That's the-" He began as a puff of violet pollen appeared and he inhaled it. "Oh no..." He began as he fell to the floor.

* * *

The next morning, Zelos opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into a pair of large brown eyes. "Lloyd?" He blinked. No... it was Lydia, standing over his bed. "Is this a dream?" Zelos gasped. 

"No. It's your worst nightmare." Lydia snarled, her face pink with fury.

"Huh? Lydia, I--" He was interrupted by the brunette grabbing his precious red hair and yanked him to his feet, _hard._ "Hey! Ow! Ow! What're you-- Ow! --doing?"

"Do you think this is funny?" Lydia yelled, gesturing to her 'new' body.

"Actually, yeah I kinda do." Zelos said and Lydia yanked his hair. "Ow! Okay, wrong answer..."

"Why did you have _that _flower of all flowers in your house?" Lydia growled.

"I...I don't know what you're talking abo--ow! Watch the hair!" Zelos whined after Lydia yanked once again on his long hair.

"I don't believe you! Come with me!" Lydia said angrily as she pulled Zelos out of the room and down the stairs.

"L-Lydia!" Zelos yelled desperately. "Don't hurt me! Remember all the good times we shared?"

"Don't even try it!" Lydia growled at him. "My body may have already changed, but it will take a while for my mind to! I'm gonna make you pay for making me go through this again!"

"Wh-where are you taking me?" Zelos stammered as Lydia continued to pull him through the mansion.

"So you think that flower's effects are funny?" She muttered, ignoring Zelos completely. "Well then let's see you _you _like it! You already look the part, anyway."

If Zelos wasn't distracted by the incredible pain in is scalp, he might have deciphered the threat. At the moment, though, he was using all of his brainpower to figure out a way to escape Lydia's clutches. Near the front door, Lydia seemed to have reached her destination, because she stopped walking. She yanked Zelos' hair particularly hard and pulled his head level to a table. The strength of the hair pull caused Zelos to close his eyes in pain and when he reopened them, he was staring straight at one of the remaining gender bender flowers. "What the f-" He began as he accidentally inhaled the pollen that shot into his face. Lydia released Zelos and he stood back up to his full height and rounded on Lydia. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" He angrily moved towards her... and lost consciousness.

* * *

Oooohohohoho! I've still got it! I'm so evil... 

As with the original, I'm winging it with this so if anyone has any ideas, I'd like to hear them.

Review! Next chapter soon, and make sure to keep sending ideas! Oh, and make sure to go read and review Soul Splitting! It's better than this!


	2. Shopping Spree 2!

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Chapter 2

Zelos sat up and looked around. He was laying by the front door of his mansion and judging by the position of the sun outside, it was about noon. _What was I doing last night? _He shrugged it off. _Whatever._ He stood up and was surprised to find himself very unsteady. _My balance is off... odd. _He had a feeling that if he could remember the events prior to falling asleep, he would understand what was going on. Unfortunately, his head was too clouded by grogginess and a dull pain in his scalp.

The next moment, he realized that he felt thirsty. Zelos slowly trudged to the closest bathroom and got a drink out of the faucet. Then, something caught his eye in the mirror. He looked... different. The differences were subtle, but at the same time highly noticeable. His face looked... softer, and his nose was smaller.His hair was the only part of him that seemed exactly the same._ Weird..._ His eyes wandered down to his chest and he received quite a shock.

* * *

Lydia, who had been napping on a couch in the next room, was awakened by a shrill scream that echoed through the house and then was stifled. _Hmmm... it seems Zelos is awake._ She yawned and walked over to the source of the scream. Zelos, now a girl, was staring transfixed at her reflection (especially the bulge in her chest area) and didn't notice Lydia enter the bathroom. "How's it going?" Lydia asked casually. 

"How's... it... going?" Zelos snarled (She noted her new, higher, voice) and rounding on Lydia. "How could you do _this_ to me?" She pointed at her chest that seemed to be even larger than Lydia's. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Actually, yeah I kinda do." Lydia responded, echoing Zelos' earlier statement, and then dodged the punch that the ex-Chosen had aimed at her face. "You know, none of this would have happened if you hadn't brought those flowers here in the first place!"

"I wasn't going to do anything with them!" Zelos tried to explain, but Lydia sighed.

"It doesn't matter anymore, anyways." She responded. "We should go see if Yuan still has a cure." Zelos nodded, and then proceeded to tighten her belt as her pants almost fell down. "Hmm... I think the first thing we should do is get you some better fitting clothes." Lydia said.

"No way!" Zelos said. "There's no point in getting different clothes if we're going to be cured soon!"

"Do what you want." Lydia responded. "But _I'm _going to get something less revealing than _this!_" It was then that Zelos stopped examining herself and looked over at Lydia. Lydia was wearing the same clothing she'd had altered in Altamira while previously under the effect of a lust flower. At Zelos' inquiring look as to _why _she was wearing it, Lydia flushed and said, "It may be revealing, but at least it fits better than guy clothes!"

Zelos seemed to understand, but then looked at Lydia with a half-disgusted, half-pitying look. "Have you been carrying those around in your bag this whole time?"

By this point, Lydia's face was as red as her clothes. "Um--you know--just in case something happened again!" If it was possible to turn even redder, Lydia would have. "Plus... they kinda have a sentimental value for me..." She decided not to mention a very embarrassing conversation she'd had with Dirk...

_"Lloyd?"_

_ "Yeah, Dad?"_

_"I found these clothes in your bag... why do they look like a female version of your outfit?"_

_"T-those? Uh... I...I-I have no idea what you're talking about..."_

_"Don't forget the Dwarven Vows, lying is the first step on the path to thievery! Now tell me the truth, why do you have these clothes?"_

_"Well... there was this magic flower that turned me into a girl and so I needed some clothes so I got those, but then Yuan found a cure after he turned into a girl also and I took the cure and now I'm back to normal, but I still have the clothes!"_

_"... I don't know if I'd rather have that story be the truth or a lie..."_

* * *

In the end, Zelos decided to go with Lydia to get some other clothes. First they visited the tailor ("So your friend is wearing male clothes this time."), and then got Zelos some _support_ ("The who with the what now?"). Lydia decided that this must be what Sheena had felt like when she'd taken her shopping. Afterwards, they returned to the tailor to get their new outfits. It took less time than before because the tailor still had the files on Lydia's outfit, and it was easy enough to replicate Zelos' outfit and tailor it to fit her. All in all, things seemed to be going pretty smoothly until... 

Zelos spotted a cute girl sitting alone and sipping some lemonade and strode over confidently. "Hey, hunny. What's a cute thing like you doing all alone? You know, we could go back to my place and..."

The girl choked and began coughing up the lemonade. "I-I'm very flattered." She sputtered through coughs. "But I don't feel that way about other girls." And she rushed off.

"What are you _doing_?" Lydia gasped, exasperated.

"Sorry; old habits." Zelos said. "It's kinda hard to forget I'm a girl now and not a guy." But then she realized something: she _was_ a girl! That meant free access to locker rooms, bath houses, and hot springs she'd constantly been kicked out of before! By the time they'd reached the mansion, Zelos was looking positively evil with the plots she was cooking up.

"Zelos?" Said Lydia. "I don't like that look in your eye. Let's hurry up and find that cure."

"Sorry, Lydia! Change of plans!" Zelos said as she pressed a button on her wingpack, making a Rheaird appear. She climbed on and took off.

"Zelos!" Lydia yelled, desperately trying to stop her, but Zelos was already gone. _Damn! We need to take that cure before we start _liking _the change, and Zelos has gone off to do who-knows-what! _She rushed back into the mansion, grabbed her wingpack out of her bag, paused to admire her outfit in a mirror, slapped herself in the face, and then flew off after Zelos.

* * *

Meh... I don't like this chapter that much... oh well, I suppose it's mostly for getting plot points out of the way and setting up the next chapter...

Review! Next chapter soon, and make sure to keep sending ideas!


	3. Zella

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Chapter 3

Lydia touched down outside of the Triet Renegade base. She had attempted to follow Zelos, but failed pretty quickly and decided that she could get the cure and _then_ find Zelos. However, entrance to the base wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped.

"Hey, you!" An unfortunate guard said. "You can't go in there without proper clearance!"

"I'm Lloyd Irving! I saved the world!" Lydia seethed.

"Good one, missy, but what do you take me for? Lloyd Irving is a man!"

In seconds, Lydia activated her Angelic Exsphere and two large spectral wings sprouted from her back. In addition, her swords combined and formed the Eternal Sword. She pinned the guard to a nearby wall with the flat edge of the sword and said, "Is this proof enough for you? I'm in a hurry."

"Y-yes!" The guard sputtered. "Go on in!"

"Good." Lydia said. "Oh, and don't _ever_ call me _missy_!" She dropped the guard and entered. She left her wings and the Eternal Sword activated as she walked around the base. Needless to say, the guards left her alone when they noticed the unique wings and reality controlling sword.

When she finally found Yuan in the control room, the half-elf groaned. "What have you been getting yourself into, Lloyd?"

"It's 'Lydia' " she said, and continued. "Please tell me you still have the cure!"

"Unfortunately, no." Yuan said bluntly.

"W-why not? Didn't you make extra when you made it the first time?" Lydia exclaimed.

"Yes I did make a little bit more, but Yggdrasil needed it and forced me to give it to him!" Yuan said defensively.

"...Why did Yggdrasil need it?" Lydia asked perplexedly.

Yuan laughed. "Well, I pulled a prank on him involving a particular blue and violet petaled flower. Unfortunately, _she _figured out that it was me and demanded a cure."

Despite the situation, Lydia had to giggle about that. _Did I just giggle? _"Wait... why didn't he just fix himself with the Eternal Sword?" Lydia asked, the idea just dawning on her.

"He tried, but apparently, although the sword can alter reality, it can't alter the bodies of complex creatures in such ways.

"Oh," Lydia said, her idea shot down. "Well then, could you make some more?"

"Again, unfortunately, no." Yuan answered.

"_WHAT?_" Lydia didn't fell like laughing any more. "Why not?"

"The cure requires the Mana Leaf Herb as the main ingredient and it's died out." Yuan explained.

"What? When?" Lydia asked.

"The Mana Leaf Herb requires the mana of Derris Kharlan to live, meaning that the only other place it might exist on is Derris Kharlan itself, which we don't have access to anymore ever since it _floated away_."

"Then what are Zelos and I supposed to do?" Lydia demanded.

"Zelos? That idiot ex-Chosen is affected by a flower too?" Yuan asked, mildly interested. "Which one?"

Lydia snapped. "_The same one affecting ME_!" She yelled, pointing the Eternal Sword at Yuan. "Now why don't you help us before I seriously mess you up!"

"What good would that do?" Yuan asked calmly. "You'll need both myself and my scientists to make you a cure if you _do_ manage to find yourself the Mana Leaf Herb."

"Fine." Lydia said grudgingly. "Could you at least help me find Zelos?"

"_That_ I can do." Yuan said, pulling up a screen. "Back when Zelos was a spy for us, we programmed the signature mana trail his exsphere emits into our tracking computers." He looked at a digitized map of the reunited world and typed something into the machine. A blinking dot appeared on the map, which both Lydia and Yuan stared at.

"You've got to be kidding me." They both said in unison.

* * *

Zelos landed and put her Rheaird back in its wingpack. She entered the women's locker room at the hot springs where she'd once framed Lloyd of being a peeping tom, and had just removed her signature pink coat when she heard the door open. When Zelos saw who it was, she couldn't help but gasp. "Sh-Sheena?" 

The summoner looked at her. "Yes? Do we know each other?"

"Not personally." Zelos quickly lied. "But you're one of the famous heroes who saved the worlds!"

Sheena blushed. "I-it was nothing." Even after becoming Chief of Mizuho, she was still embarrassed by all of the fame she was receiving. She'd actually left the village and came to the hot spring for some peace and quiet.

As the two stripped off their clothes, Zelos kept sneaking peaks at Sheena, and while she received the same thrill she'd always had, it was diminished slightly. She didn't notice, however and walked with Sheena out to the water and the two sank their bodies into the warm pool.

"Mind helping me wash my back?" Sheena asked.

"Yes!" Zelos said a little too eagerly. "I mean, sure."

As Zelos was scrubbing Sheena's back, the summoner asked, "So, what's your name?'

"I'm Zel- ah... I mean..."

"Zella? That's a nice name." Although Zelos wouldn't admit it, she silently agreed. Then, Sheena wrinkled her nose, as though she'd just smelled something particularly bad. "Sounds a bit like 'Zelos' though."

"Zelos?" 'Zella' asked innocently. "Wasn't he another one of the heroes who traveled with you?"

"Yeah." Sheena responded coldly.

"Is it true that he's unbelievably sexy?" Zella asked with a smirk.

"If you like perverted, self-absorbed idiots." Sheena said sarcastically.

Zella almost retorted but decided to finish washing Sheena's back first. She began to notice, though, that despite her close proximity to a naked Sheena without the summoner trying to get some clothes on, she wasn't enjoying it as much as she thought she would. Soon, the two started to talk, and Zella found that she was enjoying the conversation much more than the fact that Sheena wasn't wearing anything. _Dammit! Lydia was right! The flower does start to affect your mind. _However, her mind wasn't completely changed, and she still did enjoy the view, but she decided to go find a cure after the enjoyable bath.

Before she could think about it any more, Zella noticed another Rheaird landing outside. _Hmm... maybe it's Raine..._ She smirked in spite of her rapidly changing mind.

In seconds, Lydia ran into the bathing area and shouted, "Zelos! I should have known you'd come here!"

"_Zelos_?" Sheena shrieked, sounding very banshee-like and rounding on Zella.

"Wait Sheena! I can explain-" Zella began but was hit over the head by the summoner.

"This better be good." Sheena said, standing up and wrapping a towel around herself.

Zella stood too and wrapped the towel around her waist. She paused to think for a second and then wrapped it around her whole torso instead. "Sorry; force of habit." She said for the second time that day.

* * *

A few explanations later, Zella shrieked. "What do you mean 'there's no more cure?' " 

"Exactly what I said." Lydia said irritably. "What are we going to do about it? We need to get you cured."

"You mean, we need to get both of you cured." Sheena corrected her.

"Y-yeah... that's what I meant!" Lydia said with a blush. Her mind was changing a lot faster than before, probably because the Lydia personality already existed before. _This isn't good, I already _want_ to stay as Lydia! What am I supposed to do now?_

"Anyways, if Yuan doesn't have any ideas, maybe we should ask Raine." Sheena suggested.

"That's a good idea." Zella said, and the three set off.

When the three were in the air, Zella noticed that Sheena seemed to be in a bad mood. She flew closer and said. "What's wrong, Sheena? Jealous that my new body is sexier than yours?"

"What? No!" Sheena yelled and muttered. "Idiot Chosen."

* * *

Review! Next chapter soon, and make sure to keep sending ideas! 


	4. Iselia

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey everyone! For those of you out there who wanted to see Lydia choosing to remain a girl at the end of the original Gender Bending, LunaLocket started writing an alternate universe sequel call From Hero to Heroine, where that happens! It's in my favorite's list, so go check it out!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's late, and unfortunately, school's back, so I can't guarantee if next update will be soon either. Sorry, everyone!

Chapter 4

"It sure is good to be back in Iselia! Right, sis?" Genis said as the two half-elves strolled through the quaint hamlet.

"I'd prefer it if we weren't getting so much attention..." Raine said. It was true. The two were being treated as celebrities wherever they went in the new world, and Raine was getting tired of it.

"Come on, Raine. It's not that bad. Being heroes makes people more likely listen to what we have to say about half-elven rights." Genis pointed out. "Plus, we get free entry into the Altamira theme parks!"

Raine sighed. She sometimes forgot that despite his great intelligence, Genis was still a child. But he was right, people were paying more attention than they would have if the Sages hadn't saved the worlds. Unfortunately, although the two were making progress, hatred and discrimination towards half-elves was deep-seeded and was a long way from vanishing.

"Hi Genis! Hello, Professor Sage!" Collete said, running up to them. "How are you?"

"We're doing well." Raine answered. "How have things been here in Iselia?"

Colette put a finger to her chin to think. "Pretty much the same... um... Oh! The old mayor got impeached."

"Really?" Raine said, interested. Maybe their demonstrations _were _making a difference. "Then who's the new mayor?"

"Oh, it's my dad." Colette said offhandedly.

Genis smiled. Collete was the only girl he knew who wouldn't make a big deal about her father becoming mayor.

"Raine! We have a problem!" Yelled what was unmistakably Sheena's voice. She ran up, followed by Zelos and Lydia.

"_Lydia?_" Genis gasped at his gender-bent childhood friend.

"How did you change this time?" Raine asked sounding dangerously close to ruin-mode as the three all gaped at Lydia.

"Hey!" Zella said with a high pitched voice as she put her hands on her hips. "I was affected too!"

Colette surveyed her fellow ex-Chosen and said. "Sorry, Zelos, but you don't really look that different than before. I guess we just didn't notice."

Zella blushed furiously as Genis burst out laughing. "Come on! I didn't look _that_ feminine before, did I? At this, Raine coughed and looked away, Lydia became preoccupied with adjusting her outfit, and Sheena suddenly was very interested in her shoes. "Well, _thanks!_" Zella said sarcastically.

"So how did this happen, anyways?" Genis said, chuckling and wiping a tear of laughter from his eye.

* * *

Yet another explanation later, the group went to the school house to talk. There was no class in session at the moment, so everyone sat in the chairs scattered around the room. Well, that's what everyone _wanted _to do. Unfortunately for Lydia and Zella, Raine had them standing at the front of the class to be examined and questioned. 

"Fascinating!" Raine said with such enthusiasm that she sounded much more like an excited schoolgirl than a teacher as she circled the two so fast that it made the others dizzy.

"Um, P-professor Sage," Lydia said nervously. "What's the big deal? You never went this crazy last time."

"That's because we were more preoccupied with hiding from the Pope and getting you clothes. Then I was turned into a little girl, you ran away and finally changed back. There wasn't _time_ to study the effects!" Raine said with an absentminded voice as she experimentally poked one of Zella's breasts.

"Hey!" Zella squeaked in shock and indignation and Genis burst out laughing again. "Shouldn't we maybe, I don't know, _find a way to cure me_?" She suggested sarcastically.

Colette and Sheena giggled. "Normally, I'd agree, but it's just too fun to watch you being this uncomfortable." Sheena said. Just then Raine gave a small tug on Zella's hair, who yelped in pain.

"Watch it!" Zella yelled. "My scalp is still sore!"

"Stop whining so much, Zella." Raine said calmly taking notes on a clipboard.

"Seriously, though." Lydia said. "What are we going to do about the cure?"

Raine looked up from her notes. "Oh, right, we're trying to _cure_ you two, aren't we?"

Sheena, Colette, and Genis all started laughing, the latter laughing so hard he fell out of the chair. Zella and Lydia glared at them.

"Of course you're trying to cure us!" Zella yelled. "What did you think you were doing?"

"I thought it was obvious." Raine responded. "I thought we were going to study the effects of the flower and contribute to science!" He eyes lit up. "Maybe we'd even get our own exhibit in Sybak!"

Zella snapped. "Of course we're trying to get cured! The handsome and sexy Zelos can't be a woman!"

"I don't know what's more ironic," Genis interrupted. "The fact that a womanizer like Zelos got turned into a woman, or that he already looked so feminine that it's hard to notice!"

"That's it, brat!" Zella shrieked. "You've been pushing my buttons all day, and now I'm through with it!" She lept at him, but Genis hopped to the side. Unaccustomed to her new center of balance, Zella couldn't recover and fell to the ground. She jumped back to her feet, but Sheena and Lydia put themselves between the two.

"Calm down, both of you!" Lydia said.

"How can _you _be so calm?" Zella retorted. "You were changed too!"

Lydia blushed. "I-I don't know. I guess I'm... I'm just getting used to it faster than I did last time!"

"Putting that aside," Sheena said. "Unless we can get our hands on the Mana Leaf Herb, you two might be stuck that way." She didn't seem happy about that. "So Zella, you might want to get used to it like Lydia is." She sounded a little bitter.

"Why don't we just go get the Mana Leaf Herb, then?" Colette questioned.

"Colette, have you been listening at all?" Genis asked impatiently. "The only place it _might_ exist on is Derris-Kharlan, and the Eternal Sword can't send us there from this distance."

Raine gasped, suddenly struck by inspiration. "That might not be entirely true. Although the Eternal Sword itself can't get us to Derris-Kharlan, it might be able to modify something so it can!"

"...Like the Rheairds!" Genis yelled, following Raine's train of thought. "Sylph could give us air to breath in space, Maxwell or Origin could provide the atmosphere to keep the air in place and stop us from imploding..." Lydia, Zella, and Sheena winced at the thought of imploding. "...Volt could supply the power source and the Eternal Sword could hold it all together!"

"Leave the Summon Spirits to me!" Sheena said enthusiastically.

"Wait, wait, wait. Slow down." Zella said. "Are you saying that we're going to fly to Derris-Kharlan on the _Rheairds_?"

"That's correct." Said Raine.

Lydia looked into the sky. "That means I'll get to see Dad again..." She whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Colette asked.

"No, it's nothing." Lydia said. "So it's settled, then?"

**"TO DERRIS-KHARLAN!" **Everyone yelled together.

* * *

Review! Next chapter soon, and make sure to keep sending ideas! By the way, I was thinking of writing Regal and Presea out and just having this group go to Derris-Kharlan. Would that be fine, or would you all like to see them join the group as well before they leave. I want to hear your opinions! Oh, and don't forget to check out From Hero to Heroine! 


	5. Preparations

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Sorry about this being late, but I recently started a new fanfiction so now I have to alternate my time between the two. It's based on Pokemon Red and Blue versions (not the anime) and if you've ever been a fan of the games, I'd like to ask that you check it out. It needs more reviews! Don't worry, though, I'll still be updating this too. In fact, having the two different fanfictions might actually make me update faster, since if I get bored with one, I can work on the other!

As far as the Regal and Presea joining the group issue, I've decided to compromise. Presea is in, Regal is out!

Chapter 5

Presea stood nervously outside of the gates to Iselia. Ever since the worlds were reunited, she wasn't able to see Genis very often. He'd gone off with Raine to spread the word of half-elf rights, while she'd gone off to work with Regal on revitalization projects for the new world. During the whole time, though, her thoughts would always wander back to Genis. As much as she tried to deny it, Presea missed Genis far much more than any of the others.

* * *

"I call upon the Heavenly Messengers! Come, Sylph!" Sheena yelled, calling forth the summon spirit trio. 

"What do you ask of us, pact maker?" Sephie asked.

"Create a bubble with an air supply around these Rheairds!" Sheena commanded.

"As you wish." Yutis responded and a bubble appeared around their Rheairds.

"Well, that's everything." Sheena said as Sylph vanished. She'd already summoned the other necessary summon spirits and given the Rheairds everything they needed.

"Okay then!" Zella said, rubbing her hands together eagerly. "Let's get going and find the Mana Leaf Herb!"

"Don't be so reckless." Raine said. "We need to stock up on supplies first."

"What's going on?" Asked a quiet voice. The group turned and saw Presea observing them with a confused look. "Why is Lydia back?"

"What about me?" Zella asked.

"What about you?" Presea questioned.

"I changed too!" Zella exclaimed.

"...My apologies. I didn't notice at first." Presea explained and the entire group, save for Zella, started laughing.

"Oh shut up..." Zella muttered with a flush. "I'll go buy us some supplies." She left quickl

* * *

It wasn't long before Zella reached the Iselia shop, Halo. She entered and walked up to the counter where an older teen boy stood. "Yes, um, I'd like 20 apple gels, 20 orange gels, 20 life bottles... um... do you sell lemon and pineapple gels?" 

"Yes. We just started carrying them." The shopkeeper said.

"Okay, I'd like 20 of each of those too." Zella said. She continued to order supplies until she had ordered 20 of every healing item in the shop.

"Going on a trip?" The boy asked as he gathered all of the items.

"...You could say that." Zella responded.

"Alright." The boy said as he finished gathering the supplies and put them in a bag and handed them to Zella. "I assume you're paying in gald?"

Zella snorted. "Yeah, right. In case you haven't noticed, I'm Zelos Wilder, one of the heroes who reunited the worlds. I want this stuff for free."

"And in case _you _haven't noticed," The man began, taking back the bag. "Zelos Wilder is a man!"

Zella clenched her fists. _Why is it that he noticed I'm a girl when no one else could?_ She thought angrily. _What am I supposed to do now?_ She didn't have nearly enough money on her! She figured she could go ask the others for money, but she was sure they'd make some sort of joke. _The hell if I'm gonna let them make fun of me! But how do I get this guy to give me the supplies?_ I thought crossed her mind. Women had done it to her before... _I can't believe that _I'm _about to do this..._

Zella leaned over the counter, making sure to expose as much of her cleavage as possible. She looked at the uncomfortable teen with the widest eyes she could and asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. "But I really _need_ those supplies..."

The teen gulped as his eyes wandered to her chest. "B-but I'll get fired if I get caught giving away free stuff..."

Zella leaned towards him. "Then don't get caught. It'll be our little secret. I promise." She winked and took the bag from the boy's arms.

"H-hey-" The boy began, but Zella silenced him with a quick kiss on the lips before she ran out, leaving the boy very confused and very red.

"Yuck!" Zella shuddered, wiping her mouth. "I hope I don't ever have to do that again any time soon!"

* * *

The group had finished explaining the situation to Presea. "I see." Presea said. "Well then, I request that you take me with you." 

"That sounds like a great idea!" Said Genis with a blush.

"That's fine with me." Lydia said.

It was then that Zella came over carrying a large bag and had a disgusted look on her face.

"What's wrong, Zella?" Collete asked.

"What? Nothing!" Zella said, quickly putting on a happier expression. "I just got us some lemon gels and life bottles and the like."

"That's great..." Raine said. "...but we already have those things. What we really need is food."

"F-food?" Zella asked. She didn't buy any food! She had gone through all of that for nothing!

"Don't worry." Genis said. "We should have enough food at my house."

* * *

With that, they visited Genis and Raine's house, picked up supplies, and then flew their Rheairds to the Triet Renegade Base. 

"Hey," Lydia said, flying up next to Sheena. "Have you noticed that Zella seems to be in a bad mood?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Sheena said. "She's been like that ever since she came back from shopping. I wonder what happened."

"Maybe someone flirted with her!" Lydia laughed.

"Or maybe she flirted with someone else!" Sheena joked and the two burst out laughing. "Yeah, right!"

* * *

"You're going to Derris-Kharlan?" Yuan asked. "Is that possible?" 

"It should be." Raine explained their plan.

"Clever." Yuan responded. "But do you even know which way it went?" The group frowned. They hadn't thought of that, and space was a big place. "I take that as a no. Wait here a minute." He left for a few minutes and returned with two objects. One of them looked a like a radar, and the other was a small box. He gave them the radio first. "This is a mana detector. You can use it to detect the mana trail that Derris-Kharlan left behind when it floated off." Yuan explained. "Follow the trail and you should be able to find Derris-Kharlan." He gave them the box. "This is a new invention, the long-range transporter. Our scientists have discovered a new way to teleport matter, increasing the range one hundred fold over previous teleporters. When you get to Derris-Kharlan, set this up and we'll be able to transport ourselves between the two planets at will."

The team thanked Yuan, and then climbed aboard the newly-modified Rheairds and took off into space!

* * *

Poor Zella...

Review! Next chapter soon, and make sure to keep sending ideas!


	6. Derris Kharlan

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places (except The Gardens) mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey everyone, I'm back! Alright, I do have an excuse, but I also have good news, so be sure to read the full introduction. First of all, in first semester, I was taking a creative writing class in school. This meant that every time I tried to work on this, I would have that little voice in my head saying _Shouldn't you be working on your GRADED writing assignments?_ And so I would, meaning I could never get much done here. However, the semester is over and I passed the class, so now I can focus on this again!

Also, since I know my updates are very unreliable and month's in between, I decided to increase the length of every chapter from now on. When I get accustomed to chapters about this length, I'll increase the length again, pushing my limits. Also, I'm trying to work on description. This way, since I haven't been able to update often, I hope to at least counteract that with long chapters so the wait is worth it.

And now, without further waiting, here is Chapter 6 of Gender Bending 2!

Chapter 6

Kratos Aurion took a deep breath to calm himself. He was surrounded by a group of 15 or so menacing looking angels (well, as menacing as angels could look, anyway) and drew a steel sword from the sheath on his belt. It didn't feel as comfortable, nor was as powerful as his old sword, Flamberg, but he'd given that to Lloyd upon leaving the reunited world. He shook off his thoughts of his son. This was neither the time nor the place for reminiscing. He refocused his thoughts to the battle at hand and prepared for a fight.

He got one. The angels all attacked at once; the spearmen and swordsmen rushed at him while a group of archers flew into the air to pick him off from afar. "Guardian!" Kratos yelled, forming a green sphere of mana around his body that blocked all of the initial attacks. He couldn't help but smirk a little. "Light Spear!" He shouted, spinning high into the air and knocking back all of the swordsmen and the spearmen that had gotten too close. The angels he struck fell to the ground motionless. He turned his attention to the remaining few spearmen who seemed to be keeping their distance. "Double Demon Fang!" Kratos yelled as he scraped his sword against the ground. Sparks came from the sword and formed into two shockwaves that struck the spearmen and surprised them. Kratos took full advantage of the distraction and swiftly moved to them, and before they could recover, yelled "Hurricane Thrust!" He jabbed his sword into the group and a large wind shot out which struck the spearmen down.

Kratos saw movement in his peripheral vision an was barely able to raise his shield quick enough to block a volley of arrows. As the angel archers began to reload their bows, Kratos aimed his hand at them and shouted "Lightning!" A bolt of electricity shot from his hand and struck the archers, who all fell out of the air.

Kratos spun his sword around with a flourish and returned it to its sheath. The battle was over.

"Excellent job, as usual, Lord Kratos." An angel said, flying onto the scene followed by a group of angelic medics who immediately set out treating the warriors Kratos had defeated.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about them." Kratos said coolly, motioning towards the defeated angels. "With their numbers, I should have had to activate my angelic form, or at least used more advanced spells than just Lightning."

The angel was obviously flustered. "I-I apologize, my Lord. We shall implement a more effective training regime from now on."

Kratos scowled. "See that you do." With that, he walked off. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so cold to the angels, but his sparring matches against them was the only thing keeping him going. He'd done all that he had promised he would. He had discarded Cruxis' exspheres into space, leaving only a small amount on Derris-Kharlan in the unlikely event that it would need to be defended. The angels didn't reproduce, so the population of the former Cruxis beings was dwindling, but that suited all of them just fine. Kratos too, had finally resumed aging after 4,000 years. Of course, Kratos wasn't _old_ or anything (at least physically). After all, it hadn't been that long since Mithos was defeated. Speaking of which, the defeat of Mithos had caused the angels to slowly start to regain their humanity. He figured that he should be thankful that the angels had recovered some personality and were no longer acting like living dolls, but at least then they could fight better!

He was interrupted from his thoughts by another angel flying up to him. "Lord Kratos!" The angel began. "We've apprehended seven intruders. Two of them are half-elves and the others are humans."

Needless to say, Kratos was surprised. "Humans? Here? How did they get here? I thought were were too far away for humans to reach us."

"They appeared to get here using modified Rheairds." The angel explained. "Also, they had a device with them that could very well have been a bomb. When we apprehended them. we sent the device to our scientists to be studied."

Kratos was barely listening. _Humans with two half-elves arriving on Rheiards? Could it be... Lloyd?_ "Were you able to identify the prisoners?'

The angel shook his head. "At first, they appeared to be the reunification heroes, but the one claiming to be Lloyd Irving was a female. Therefore, we had to assume that they were _all_ impostors."

"Lloyd was a _female_?" Kratos asked. He'd heard all he needed to hear. "Take me to the prisoners. _Immediately _"

* * *

"I'm telling you! I'm Lloyd Irving!" Lydia shouted at the guard from behind the pearl-white bars of the angelic Welgian prison. 

"Stow it!" The angel yelled back. "You are a female human! You couldn't possibly be the great hero!"

"I don't remember the angels being this disrespectful before." Zella complained.

"No kidding." Lydia responded with a scowl.

"Calm down." Raine reprimanded her. "I'm sure we can reason with them." She turned to the guard. "Please. We just want to speak to Kratos Aurion."

"So?" The angel asked. "Lord Kratos is far too busy to be bothered with swine like you."

"Don't you talk down to me!" Raine yelled at him and the rest of the group rolled their eyes. So much for being calm.

"That's enough!" Said a deep voice. The group easily identified it as belonging to Kratos. Sure enough, the purple-clad Seraph presently strode into view. He eyed the imprisoned group and asked, "So, what happened?"

* * *

After the fifth lengthy explanation since the incident began, Kratos nodded. "I see." He eyed Zella. "Oh, and I hope this doesn't offend you, but at first I didn't think you'd changed." 

Genis laughed and Zella gritted her teeth. "I didn't look that feminine before! I know I didn't! I mean, come on," She puffed her large chest out. "do these look like a guy's chest?"

If Kratos was surprised by Zella's outburst, he hid it well. "So we need to go get the Mana Leaf Herb, correct?"

Lydia nodded. "That's right. Can you help us, Dad?"

"Of course." Kratos replied. "However, I think the first thing we should do is get that transporter of Yuan's working."

"Okay then." Lydia said. She didn't want to admit it, but she was already enjoying the change and was fine with completing all of their other tasks first. "But wait... one of the angels took it from us when we got here."

"That's true." Said Raine. "We'll need to get it back from them."

"Hopefully they didn't mess it up." Genis added.

Kratos smiled. "I don't think you have to worry about that. Welgian scientists are very competent."

* * *

"What do you mean you _broke it_?" Kratos raged at the unfortunate scientist. 

"I-I apologize L-Lord Kratos, sir!" The female angel stammered, avoiding the Seraph's eyes and looking at his feet instead. "As you were informed, we feared that it was a bomb, so we dismantled it to be sure."

"It wasn't a bomb." Presea stated somewhat unnecessarily.

"We know that now!" The scientist said defensively.

"So much for Welgian scientists being very competent." Zella muttered, rolling her eyes. "Now we're stuck here."

The angel scowled. "You don't give us enough credit. We should be able to put it back together." She reassured them. "Something you _inferior beings_ probably couldn't manage." She added nastily.

"Watch your mouth." Kratos reprimanded him coolly. "I thought I forbade the use of that racial slur when I first came here."

"O-of course Lord Kratos, sir." The angel said. "I just got worked up by their insults. It's a bit of a downside to having emotions now."

"I'm sorry." Colette said empathetically.

"Regardless," Raine said. "when can you have it fixed?"

The angel ran her hand through her long hair. "Well that I just don't know. A lot of this technology is very advanced. It could take less than a week, or many months."

"Well you should get started on it then, shouldn't you?" Kratos asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Lord Kratos. I'll have my team get to work immediately." She stammered, bustling away. Genis shook his head to clear his thoughts. He'd hardly listened to a word of the conversation. He'd spent the majority of the time staring at the angel's well-endowed chest. He couldn't help it, and found himself eying Lydia, Zella, Sheena, and even Colette. Of course, Genis was no idiot; he knew that his hormones were making him do so and that it had to happen eventually. It happens to everyone. Of course, this knowledge didn't make it any easier to ignore all of the young women in the party...

"Well then, if the transporter is damaged, it appears that we should go find the Mana Leaf Herb first." Kratos reasoned.

"And where would that be?" Zella inquired.

"The Gardens." Kratos said simply.

"The Gardens?" Lydia repeated. "That sounds easy."

Kratos looked grim. "I wish. The Gardens is an area where Mithos allowed magically altered plants to grow in hopes of creating biological weapons. Long ago he forbade angels from entering it for their own safety. It's become so overrun by magical plants that it's become a sort of jungle."

Raine's eyes lit up. "Do you mean that there is a place with hundreds, maybe thousands of undiscovered plants?"

The look, which looked like an extreme case of Ruin Mode, was unsettling even to Kratos. "I... suppose..."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Raine shouted. "There's no telling how those plants could benefit mankind!"

"Run for your lives, it's Ruin Mode!" Lydia shouted, but was shut up by an angry look from Raine.

"Calm down!" Kratos said exasperatedly. "Raine, you can't possibly comprehend the dangers of The Gardens."

"Well I sure as hell am not going to stay like _this_!" Zella said, gesturing at here feminine body. "Let's get going."

"Come on, Dad." Lydia said. "We need the Mana Leaf Herb."

Kratos sighed. "I know that, but I thought we could send angels in for us."

"Oh, no. We can't do that." Colette said. "It's our problem and we shouldn't make them risk their lives for us."

"Besides..." Lydia said. "If we could take down Mithos and Abyssion, I'm sure we can handle some plants, right?"

"Uh, Lydia?" Zella piped up. "Don't you remember that giant plant that tried to eat us the time we tried to get the Mana Leaf Herb to cure Colette's Angel Toxicosis?"

"We beat it, didn't we?" Lydia said, shrugging.

"I know, I just thought I'd point out that plants _can _be dangerous." Zella explained.

"Does it matter?" Raine asked. "We need to go explore that forest to find the Mana Leaf Herb."

"Are you sure that's that the real reason you want to go?" Zella asked snidely. "...and not just to study some undiscovered plants?"

"What was that?" Raine asked with a dangerous calm.

"Nothing." Zella responded. She didn't want to push her luck.

"That's what I thought." Raine said. "Let's just go already!"

"Fine." Kratos said. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

And it was with that that the eight heroes made their way to the said 'Gardens,' located on the outskirts of Welgia. As they walked, Lydia noticed that Genis had been uncharacteristically quiet. The half-elf was walking behind her and appeared to be staring intently at the ground. "Hey Genis, you all right?" She asked him. 

Genis jumped from examining Lydia's butt and blushed. "Oh, I'm fine. Uh... I was just staring...staring at... at the ground! Y-yeah, just the ground, nothing else. I'm uh, a little tired... from the trip. Yeah, that's it."

"O...kay." Lydia said, continuing to walk. _Hmm... I wonder what's making Genis so nervous..._

Genis shook his head again, focusing on the path again. _Phew, that was close. Damn, I feel like Zelos, staring at girl's butts! _

"Well, here we are." Kratos said, interrupting Genis' thoughts and motioning with his arm to the large jungle on a floating platform behind him. The group gasped. They had never seen anything like it before, as clichéd as it sounds. Unlike the green plants of Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, the majority of the plants in the Gardens were purple, the exact same same purple of Derris-Khalan itself. Not only that, but many of the plants were of immense size. They were untamed and pointed out in all directions. A path moved into the Gardens before being overtaken by the monstrous plants. It was clear that the path had once been clear, but had since been taken over by the plants after the angels abandoned it.

"Amazing." Raine finally gasped out.

Kratos gave a small smile. "Yes, I suppose so. However," He began, turning deadly serious. "don't touch _anything_. That goes for all of you."

"Well then how are we supposed to find the Mana Leaf Herb?" Zella asked indignantly.

"Leave that to me." Kratos continued. "We have no idea what these plants can do. However, I can assure you that they are far less 'playful' than the ones in the Ymir Forest."

"Playful?" Lydia asked with an apprehensive chuckle. "Those were playful? Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"No." Kratos said seriously. "The ones in the Ymir Forest, while annoying in their effects, never endangered anyone's life or sanity." He paused to let is sink in and there was a collective gulp throughout the group. "Now, let us begin." He examined the plants at the edge of the Gardens, and then drew his sword and slashed them to bits. He repeated the process as the group moved gradually deeper into the jungle.

Deeper and deeper, into the Gardens.

* * *

Review! Next chapter might not be soon, but it will be long! Also make sure to keep sending ideas (I'm going to need them for The Gardens)! 


	7. Splitting Up

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Alright, so things are going to seem a little odd in this chapter, but bear with me: there's a method to my madness!

Chapter 7

Almost an hour later, the group was still slowly making their way through the Gardens and still hadn't found the Mana Leaf Herb. They recently encountered a thick fog and Kratos ordered all of them to get closer to each other, to avoid the group getting separated. Genis had ended up huddled up near Lydia and was blushing profusely at their close proximity. Interestingly, Sheena was huddled up near Lydia as well and she too found herself blushing. _What the hell is going on?_ She thought. _Why am I suddenly so uncomfortable with Lydia? _She paused. _Oh, who am I kidding? It's been uncomfortable ever since Lloyd changed into her. _Even though she might not admit it to herself, Sheena had had feelings for Lloyd for a long time and the transformation was what was making things so awkward. At least, that's what Sheena thought...

"Hey Kratos." Zella began. "We've been walking for, like, an hour now." She paused, temporarily disturbed by the feminine phrasing of her comment. "How about we take a break?"

Kratos looked at Zella at the mention of his name, having obviously been shaken from his no-doubt mysterious thoughts. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

Zella sighed in exasperation and repeated her suggestion.

The Seraph looked thoughtful and then said, "Yes I suppose we should." He stopped walking and held out his hand to stop everyone else. Next, he did a quick observation of the area before him, probably checking for the Mana Leaf Herb. Then, he held his hands out in front of him, muttered an incantation, and shouted "Judgement!" Immediately, a large pillar of light shot down from the purple sky and obliterated a large circular area of the Gardens.

The group stepped into the newly made circular clearing, which was about 30 or 40 feet in diameter. Now clearly visible, both Genis and Sheena quickly moved away from Lydia with their faces beet red. Lydia, of course, was oblivious. While this was going on, Kratos said, "This shall be our camp. If any of us should get separated, it should be first priority to get back here. Without touching any plants, of course." He added quickly. "I'd like to avoid any situations like last time in the Ymir forest."

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed and the group started setting up camp in the clearing. While they did so, Kratos began to leave.

Zella noticed first and said, "Hey, old man! Where are you going?"

The Seraph, with his back to the gender-bent pervert said. "Sometimes I need to be alone with my thoughts. This is one of those times. You don't have to worry; I'll be extremely careful about the plants." Without saying more, he began cutting himself a different path out of the clearing and into the lush Gardens.

"I bet he's just trying to get out of setting up camp." Zella pouted. "Well, I'm out of here!" She started off in a different direction from Kratos.

"And just where are you going?" Sheena asked with a raised eyebrow. "We still need to set up camp."

Zella gestured to a sleeping back she had set up on the ground. "I _am _set up."

"What about what Kratos said?" Lydia asked. "I'm pretty sure he told us to stick together."

Zella shrugged. "Hey, if he's not going to follow his own advice, then neither am I. Besides, I want to find the Mana Leaf Herb as fast as possible. Splitting up is probably out best bet."

Raine stepped forward. "While I'm not sure I agree with your reasoning, I do think that splitting up is the best way to cover the most ground." She reached into her rucksack and pulled out some notepads, which she began passing out. "I want all of you to sketch and observe three plants before tomorrow, obviously being sure not to touch them. Since some of us seem to be going out into the forest, I figured this is the best time to give out this assignment."

Lydia and Zella both groaned in unison. "You're giving us _homework_?"

"I suppose you could describe it that way." Raine began with a glint in her eye resembling Ruin Mode. "But if everyone documents three different plants, imagine the scope database we could establish in just a few days! Think of it like the Monster List or the Collector's Book."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Zella muttered sarcastically as she jammed the notebook into her pocket and started cutting herself a path through the forest.

"Hey sis, you look shorter..." Genis began when Raine handed him a notebook.

Raine smiled. "You're probably just growing." She reassured him.

"Maybe..." Genis thought aloud as he sat down at the edge of the clearing to observe a plant. It made sense that he would reach a growth spurt at this time, since he had obviously hit puberty recently, but something about his sister's appearance was still bugging him. In addition to appearing thinner, he thought that her clothes seemed just slightly looser, meaning she was a little thinner as well... He shook his head. He was probably just being paranoid. Maybe she had been getting more exercise recently. Either that, or maybe he was subconsciously associating his sister with some of the younger, slightly less filled-out girls of the group, like Sheena or Lydia.

Thinking that was a mistake. Unbidden, he started having not-so-innocent visions of the two girls, distracting him further from his homework. He blushed and cast his eyes around the campsite, eying Sheena, Lydia, and even Colette. If Zella had been there, he would have examined her as well. Finally, his eyes rested on Presea and he felt a pang of guilt. Ever since they reached Derris-Kharlan, he hadn't given her a second thought as he admired every female he saw _except _her (Excluding Raine, of course). It wasn't that he didn't love Presea anymore; he still did...But she was undeveloped, and his hormones were obviously uninterested in her. It was an odd feeling to love Presea, but to be physically attracted to all of the other girls in the party. He resolved to talk to her, but when he saw Sheena bend over to pick up her pencil, his mind went blank and he furiously began scribbling in the notepad to distract himself.

* * *

Zella was furiously cutting her way through the jungle with her sword, looking desperately for the Mana Leaf Herb. _Damn it! Where is that stupid thing? _As Kratos was leaving the camp, she'd found herself eying the Seraph with intensity. She didn't think anyone else had noticed, but the experience was unnerving enough for her. She paused, looking for the Mana Leaf Herb and found that she was placing most of her body weight on one leg in a feminine manner. She quickly corrected herself with a scowl and continued moving._ If we don't find it soon, I'm not gonna want to change back! I'll be damned if I let that happen!_ Distracted with her thoughts, in addition with her unfamiliar center of gravity, she stumbled and found her face falling directly at a flower. Luckily her arm shot out and caught a vine. With her hold on the vine, Zella was able to pull herself back to her feet before the flower could shoot any pollen into her face. However, the vine she grabbed had been covered in large thorns and she received large cut on her finger. In an even fouler mood than before, Zella continued to make her way into the jungle.

* * *

"I am going for a walk." Presea said calmly. "Perhaps I'll be able to find the Mana Leaf Herb. Would anyone like to come along?" 

"I'll come." Colette said, hopping to her feet. "This assignment is boring anyway."

Presea raised her eyebrow at Colette's disregard for Raine's feelings. Of course, Raine wouldn't have been hurt by the comment, but generally Colette was so afraid of hurting someone's feelings she would have never dreamed of saying such a thing. Presea shook off her suspicion and the two set off into the Gardens as the pink-haired girl cut the way with her ax. Genis probably would have offered to go with them if he'd heard them, but he was so focused on _not _thinking about any of the girls in the group that he was rigorously doing his homework and didn't hear a word anyone said.

* * *

Kratos angrily stabbed his sword into one of the many purple trees. He had absolutely no idea why, but he'd recently found himself attracted to _Sheena_ of all people! _Why?_ He wondered. _Why now?_ Despite the summoner's low-cut clothing and large chest, he'd never once felt attracted to her in any way. Being over 4,000 years old and being extremely loyal to your dead wife will prevent a person from feeling such feelings about other women. Of course, he didn't _love_ Sheena or anything, that was still reserved for Anna and Anna alone, but he couldn't deny that he found himself thinking about her._ Why now?_ He asked himself again. _I've never felt even remotely attracted to her in the past!_ He paused. That wasn't true, was it? No, it wasn't. He _had _felt attracted to Sheena before: when she kissed him with the pollen-laced lipstick back in that Altamira hotel room. _But I was cured, wasn't I? What would make me start thinking this way about her again?_ He mood wasn't helped by the fact he could hardly see where he was going with that blasted fog everywhere! Kratos paused, thinking. Although it had been in varying amounts, they'd all been in that fog ever since they entered the Gardens, right? It was definitely unnatural. No ordinary fog was purple, after all. 

Realization dawned on him. Could it be that the fog was bringing out the effects of flowers they thought they'd cured? That would explain his reemerging feelings for Sheena. That would mean that the others in the group were probably being affected as well! Colette would gradually become more lustful and selfcentered, Raine would slowly become younger, and Sheena would be falling in love with Lydia all over again! Now that he thought about it, Kratos _had_ noticed Sheena blushing as she was huddled up next to his daughter earlier...

Kratos immediately pivoted on his feet and set out at a sprint back towards the camp. He wasn't sure if pollen that canceled each other out, such as the two others Lydia was effected with before, would reemerge, but he wasn't going to wait to find out! He had to get back to the camp and warn everyone before they all started to relapse. Silently, he cursed himself for how far he'd wandered from the camp. Still, he should be able to get back soon. As he ran, he couldn't help but think how lucky Yuan was for not being here. _I doubt gradually turning into a woman would be a pleasant experience._

Unfortunately, in his rush, Kratos didn't watch where he was going and tripped on a tree root. He landed with his face right next to a flower, which suddenly expelled a lot of pollen at him. Kratos was unable to get up in time and breathed in the dust. "Damn it..." He muttered as the pollen filled his lungs...

* * *

As Presea and Colette made their way through the Gardens in their currently unsuccessful search, Presea was thinking about Genis. He seemed distracted lately, and didn't seem to want to talk to her. Normally, her offer to go on a walk would have been answered by an enthusiastic, if nervous, reply from Genis. She also thought she saw him staring at some of the other girls... She stopped herself there. She was probably being paranoid. Not only that, but Presea refused to turn into one of those jealous, backstabbing kinds of girls that would follow Zelos around. _He's probably fine. _She thought, but still decided that she would talk to him about it later. Suddenly, there weren't any plants in front of her to cut down. 

The two girls stepped into a small clearing with a metal floor. In the middle of the clearing was what appeared to be a staircase leading underground. "What is that?" Colette asked.

"This is quite peculiar." Presea responded.

"Let's go inside!" Colette said.

Presea cocked her head to one said. "Kratos said not to touch anything. It's odd for _you_ of all people to be disobeying the rules."

"Oh, it'll be fine, Presea." Colette said cheerfully. "Don't you want to know where it goes?"

Presea shrugged. "I suppose it would be interesting to investigate. All right. Let's go."

The two walked down the staircase, going deeper and deeper underground...

* * *

Zella groaned as she walked towards the camp. She hadn't found anything in her search and she was boiling mad. She set her eyes around the camp as she thought. _Damn it! I've got to find the Mana Leaf Herb before I change too much! Gah! Not to mention this stupid cut won't stop throbbing! _She angrily rubbed the cut from the thorn on the vine. _Oh, well, at least the flower thorns don't cause any change. ...At least I don't think so. Maybe I should have Raine check this cut out..._ Suddenly, though, none of that mattered to her. Zella had looked at Genis, and a wave of emotion washed over her. She didn't care about the cut anymore. She didn't care about the Mana Leaf Herb. She didn't care about being cured at all anymore. All she cared about was that silver-haired half elf. Zella blushed bright red as she walked closer to the camp and Genis. 

_Genis. _

* * *

Well, I think things have been shaken up enough for this chapter, don't you think? 

Oh, and by the way, "cured" pollen is being brought out by the unnatural fog, but pollen that was "canceled out" is not. For example, Lydia will not be becoming overly preppy or falling in love with Sheena, and Genis will not be falling in love with Lydia. And speaking of Genis, he _is _going through puberty, and is not being magically affected at the moment. And trust me; things are going to get increasingly awkward regarding our favorite half-elf mage, and I _love _writing it!

Please review and make sure to keep sending ideas (I'd especially appreciate suggestions about what's going to happen to Kratos)!


	8. Effects

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Alright, I have an important announcement at the end of the chapter, so be sure to read it.

Chapter 8

After they started down the stairs leading underground, it wasn't long before the metal stairs leveled off and Presea and Colette encountered a door. The door was metal and obviously Welgian. They cautiously approached it, expecting it to open on its own like most Welgian doors. Not surprisingly, it didn't budge. Before the two girls could set about examining it, however, they heard a voice that made their blood run cold.

"Please state the password." Said what was unmistakably Yggdrasil from a speaker near the door.

"Y-Yggdrasil?" Presea couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice. "How did you survive?"

Colette sighed. "Come on, Presea. I thought you were smarter than this. And people always say _I'm _the slow one!"

Presea would have been taken aback by Colette uncharacteristic insensitivity if she hadn't been still wheeling from the reappearance of their enemy. "What do you mean?"

"Please state the password." Yggdrasil said again. It was amazing how he was able to say it with the exact same inflections as the time before...

"Wait a minute..." Presea began.

"You see now?" Colette said. "That's just Yggdrasil's voice, pre-recorded."

"Well, if we don't know the password, there is nothing else we can do here." Presea said, finally mastering her heartbeat. "Perhaps Kratos could tell us what is behind the door."

Colette sighed again. "Think with your brain Presea." She said. She didn't say it unkindly, but it was odd to hear Colette speak like that.

"Excuse me?" Presea asked, actually taken aback this time.

"This is Mithos we're talking about here." Colette explained.

"Please state the password." Yggdrasil's voice repeated.

"Martel." Colette said confidently. Sure enough, the door opened and the ex-Chosen rolled her eyes. "What _else _could the password possibly be?" They both entered the room behind the door, but once they did, all confidence Colette had evaporated in an instant.

"...Impossible." Was all Presea could say, looking straight at the five Desian Grand Cardinals.

* * *

Back at the camp, everyone was just as quiet as the two girls in the underground chamber. Of course, their reasons were different. Raine was preoccupied with her work, as expected. Lydia and Sheena were building a fire pit, which is a lot harder than one might think when in a completely obliterated clearing and when one couldn't enter the thicket of plants surrounding them. If it hadn't been for Genis supplying the rocks with Stone Blast, they probably never would have gotten it done. Speaking of Genis, right after giving the rocks to the two young women, he blushed and returned to his homework. At this point, he'd already cataloged two plants out of the retired three. However, since he doubted many others would actually _finish_ the assignment, he figured the more plants he could sketch, the better. At least that's what he told himself. He was actually desperately trying to distract himself from watching Lydia and Sheena build the fire pit. The two girls, with their low cut shirts and and large chests constantly bending over the pile of rocks... Well, it made sense that Genis would have a hard time not staring. 

Speaking of this, Sheena was having similar thoughts and cursed herself for doing so. She had not idea _why_ she found herself sneaking peaks at Lydia's chest, but at the same time couldn't make herself stop! _Hmph. I can't believe I'm getting jealous of her! _She thought as she blushed. That _had_ to be the reason her eyes were straying to that particular part of Lydia's body. She _had_ to be subconsciously comparing her chest to her friend's. It's not like she _liked_ the sight, right? Of course not! That would be preposterous! When she found herself doing it again, she quickly looked away and saw Zella standing at the edge of the camp. "Oh, I see you're back, Zella."

Zella was startled from her thoughts and shrugged. "I suppose so." She said offhandedly. Sheena and Lydia looked at her a little oddly, but then returned to building the fire pit.

Genis turned an eyed Zella as well and noticed something odd. When she'd gone off into the forest earlier (he admitted to have been staring) he noticed that she was making sure to walk in as masculinely way as possible. Of course, he understood this, considering what she'd gone through, but now... now she didn't seem to care as she walked into the camp. Her hips were swaying hypnotically and she had her arms rigid with her hands sticking out as she strode confidently in. It was definitely feminine, and Genis couldn't understand what had caused the change. When his eyes finally reached her face, he received a bit of a shock. He had assumed she was walking to her rucksack, perhaps to get a snack. Imagine his surprise when he found her eyes staring intently at him. When his eyes met hers, she didn't avert her gaze or even blink. She just smiled a small smile as she approached him...

"Uh... he...hello Z-Zelos." Genis stuttered. This was the first time he'd started a conversation since they'd entered they forest.

Zella's smile faltered for a split second, but then she sat down next to the boy and slid in rather close. "Actually, if you don't mind..." She leaned closer. "It's _Zella._" She whispered silkily in his ear.

Without meaning to, Genis trembled at her pronunciation of the name. "O-okay." The boy said, obviously uncomfortable at how close Zella was sitting. "W-well, I have work to do..." He turned back towards his notepad.

"But that's so _boring_!" Zella said in an overly dramatic manner. She grabbed his arm and made him turn to face her again. "I'm sure we can find something more _fun_ to do."

Genis blushed at the implication, but then his eyes narrowed at her. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Well why not?" Zella asked, staring back into his deep blue eyes. "How could I not get I along with a cute guy like you?" It was then that the half-elf came to a realization.

"I suppose you think you're funny." Genis growled at her, and Zella looked taken aback. "You've hit a new low, Zelos, trying to embarrass me like that." It couldn't have been hard for the ex-Chosen to notice how uncomfortable he'd been around the girls lately and then taken a guess at his situation. "Leave me alone." He muttered angrily and stormed off.

Zella was completely perplexed at her idol's actions. She must have lost a good portion of her sense when she was affected by the thorn. "Why would he do that? Oh, well. I guess I just have to try harder..." She smiled as she pulled out her notepad and started doing plant sketches. _He said he was embarrassed. I guess I'll have to wait until I can talk to him privately. _The idea of putting Genis through an unpleasant experience was unthinkable to her.

While the the enamored ex-Chosen and the nervous half-elf were talking, Lydia and Sheena finished the fire pit. "Ah, done!" Lydia said, standing with a smile, and dusting her hands off.

"Hey Lydia." Sheena said quietly leaning over to the Eternal Swordswoman." Is it just me or is Zella suddenly acting really feminine?"

Lydia glanced at Zella, who seemed to be doing her assignment from Raine. "Yeah, I noticed that too when she walked into camp."

Sheena eyed Lydia curiously. "Did you embrace your new body that quickly last time?"

Lydia shook her head. "No way. I spend much longer wrestling with the change then him... er... her."

"Do you think she's just joking around?" Sheena asked.

"I don't know." Lydia said truthfully. "Either way, I think I'm gonna go talk to my dad about it. Zella needs to change back before she doesn't want to." She paused. "It's easier that way." She walked off on the path Kratos had cut, looking for her father.

* * *

Presea and Colette stood rooted to the ground as they gaped at Magnius, Kvar, Forcystus, Rodyle and Pronyma. While it was true that Presea and Colette were probably stronger than them, if all five were to attack at once... 

It was then that the shock wore off and the girls noticed a vital fact: the cardinals were floating in tanks of green liquid and appeared to be unconscious. Of course, that didn't mean that they couldn't wake up...

"W-what are the Grand Cardinals doing here?" Colette questioned frantically. "I thought we killed them all!"

"Calm down." Presea smiled a little, now that she was on the calm end of the conversation. She gestured around the room, motioning to computer devices next to each of the unconscious cardinals. "I believe those computers should be able to provide us with information."

Colette took a deep breath to steady herself from the shock. "Fine. Just make sure not to wake them up."

Presea walked up to the closest terminal; the one near Pronyma, and began typing into it. "Enter password?" She read. "M A R T E L" She said as she typed the corresponding letters into the machine and pressed 'enter.' However, the screen buzzed and 'Access Denied' flashed across it. "I suppose Mithos wasn't as careless as we originally thought." She observed.

"You probably typed it wrong." Colette muttered, walking over. At that precise moment, her signature clumsiness kicked in, and the blonde angel fell right onto the terminal with considerable force. The machine sparked, and then Presea had access to all of the secure files.

"That works far too often." Presea said with a small smile as she began to study the information on the screen. "Colette... look at this!" She pointed at the screen. "These aren't the Grand Cardinals at all!"

"What do you mean?" Colette asked.

"They're clones, or replicas, or something." Presea explained, reading the screen.

"Why would Mithos clone _them?" _Colette asked. "You'd think he would have cloned Martel or something."

"I think he came up with the idea after she died." Presea said. "He probably did this as insurance in case they were killed. Then he'd be able to continue to use them."

Colette looked thoughtful. "He was probably so hurt at Martel's death that he didn't want to lose anyone else too. Hey, look!" She pointed to a corner of the room that had been unnoticeable from the entrance. In the corner, replicas of both Kratos and Yuan were floating in tanks. "But wait... why didn't he start using the clones back when we killed Magnius? Or Kvar?"

Presea thought for a second. "...It could be that he was unable to get here. Kratos did say that the Gardens became too dangerous for the angels to enter. Maybe that included Mithos as well."

Colette nodded. "That makes sense." She looked around nervously. "All these people are starting to give me the creeps. Wanna get going?"

Presea nodded too. "Yes. We can discuss this with Kratos later." With that, the two girls exited the bizarre replica room in a hurry.

* * *

Lydia sighed. She'd been walking through the purple fog on Kratos' path for a while, and there was still no sign of the Seraph. Things were definitely spinning out of control, which she definitely didn't like. She didn't particularly relish having to talk Zella into changing back, especially now that she was have second thoughts herself. She groaned. _I can't believe I'm having to go through this again!_Her thoughts were interrupted, though, when she saw a man laying face-down in the middle of the path. The man had auburn hair and was wearing dark purple clothes... "DAD!" She gasped, running over to her father and turning him on his back. "DAD! KRATOS!" She yelled again, shaking him. Kratos stirred and opened his eyes. 

"Hm? What is it?" Kratos asked groggily.

"Kratos, what's going on?" Lydia asked. "Why are you on the ground?"

Kratos didn't answer.

"Hellooo! Kratos?" Lydia asked waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hm? You mean me?" Kratos asked.

"Of course I mean you!" His daughter practically screamed. "Why were you on the ground? What happened?"

Kratos paused, thinking. "I don't remember."

"You don't remember?" Lydia asked, worried. "What do you just remember walking, and then suddenly ending up on the ground?"

"...No." Kratos said.

"Well what is the last thing you remember?" Lydia asked as she got progressively more worried.

Kratos paused again. "Nothing. I can't remember anything." He said far too calmly for someone in his situation. "Now I have a question: Who are you?"

* * *

Well, I hope I didn't drag out the suspense about Kratos too long and then cause a letdown. I really liked a lot of your suggested ideas, and I was poised to use one of them. However, then I thought exactly why I was changing Kratos. The main reason was so he couldn't warn the others about the fog. I thought that the best way to stop from warning them was to just forget, and I came up with super powerful amnesia! Now, that change might seem to be a bit of a letdown and unfunny, considering some of your ideas, but trust me. I'm toying with some funny situations for Amnesia Kratos, and hopefully they will not disappoint, 

Now, you may have noticed that this chapter is slightly shorter than the last two, and I've discovered the problem with long chapters: they use up ideas too quickly! At this point, I've used up my reserve of ideas! Don't worry, I'm going to keep using the long chapters, but now I need ideas more than ever! Even if you don't like your idea, please suggest it! Although I haven't actually used many of the reader's ideas, many of them inspire me with other ones! So please, review, and give me your suggestions, regardless of if they will fit in at the moment! (They may work eventually)

I must warn you that it may be a while until the next chapter due to my lack of ideas and because Smash Bros. is coming out in a few days. Hopefully, though, I will be back soon, and until then, please keep sending ideas!

Please review and make sure to keep sending ideas! I need them even more now! Even if you don't have ideas, please review anyways! The more I get, the more I want to write! (HINT HINT)


	9. A Night of Dreams

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey there everybody! I wrote the first thousand words to this, but then bought the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games! Those are awesome, and I recommend them to everyone with a DS! I figured that once I beat them, I'd be able to focus more, but now I really want to write some AA stuff! However, I know that every time I start a new project, the old ones fade into obscurity without ever being finished, so I'll hold off for now. (Besides, writing a mystery that actually makes _sense_ is pretty hard!)

Once again, I apologize for the PMs I received but never answered. I plead the Phoenix Wright excuse again.

Rambling aside, I thought I should bring up that even if things get a little kinky in this chapter, please don't stop reading! It will all make sense eventually! As Ron Weasley would say: "I've got a plan!"

Chapter 9

Things were definitely out of control, Lydia reflected as she led the confused Kratos back towards camp, trying to ignore his many questions for the time being.

"Where are we? Why are the trees purple? Why is the sky purple? Why am I _wearing_ purple?" Kratos rattled off his string of questions like a little kid with no end in sight. "Who are you? Who am _I_? How do we know each other? What's my name again?"

It was then that Lydia finally snapped. "Listen, Kratos. I'll explain everything when we get back to camp. Until then, please _shut up_!"

Kratos rolled his eyes. "Who died and made you queen?"

Lydia was shocked, not by Kratos' incredulous attitude, but by how different he was acting. She supposed it made sense, though. Having 4,000 years worth of memories of working for Yggdrasil would make anyone into a serious person. "Whatever." She sighed. "Do what you want, but I'm not answering any questions until we get back to camp."

"How far away is camp?" Kratos asked and Lydia glared at him. "Lighten up! It was just a joke!" He laughed, perplexing Lydia. She couldn't remember a time when Kratos had laughed so heartily and therefore eyed him in confusion. Kratos picked up on this and said, "Geez, why are you looking at me like that? Was I some serious stiff or something?" He paused. "Right, you said no questions. Sorry."

"It's fine." Lydia muttered.

A few minutes passed as they walked in silence, but then Kratos spoke up. "Hey, sorry, but I'm gonna ask a question. Did you and I ever have a thing going on?"

Lydia was repulsed. "No! Of course not! What would even give you that idea?" She practically screamed.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you were pretty cute..." Kratos began with a smirk.

Lydia's face turned as red as her clothes, and this time, she did scream. "I'm your _daughter_!" She exclaimed at him.

Kratos looked confused for a moment, and then quickly apologized. "S-sorry about that, then." He quickly said, just as red as her. Then he launched another barrage of questions. "Why didn't you say you were my daughter? Am I married? Is my wife pretty? How old are you? How old am I?"

Lydia sighed as Kratos continued to question her. She'd hoped that her outburst would put Kratos in one of his signature moments of silent thought, but instead he'd gotten louder.

Luckily, it wasn't long before they returned to camp, where the entire group had reconvened, including Presea and Colette. Presea spotted them first and said, "Ah, Kratos, you're back. If you don't mind, there's something we'd like to discuss with you..."

"Well then you're going to be in a bit of trouble, then." Lydia said with another sigh. "He's lost his memory."

As she said this, Kratos pointed at Sheena and eagerly asked Lydia, "Is _she _my wife?" Sheena blushed, and the rest of the group worked itself into a frenzy. 'How did it happen?' 'How much did he forget?' 'How much did you tell him?' were some of the many questions Lydia was bombarded with. By the time Kratos asked again "So, _is_ she my wife?" Lydia snapped.

"No, she's not!" Lydia yelled. As Kratos began to look towards Raine, Lydia continued. "No one here is! Your wife, my mother, died when I was just a baby!"

"Oh." Kratos said solemnly. "So does that mean I'm single?" He asked, perking back up, and eying the ladies of the group.

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Just when we finally get rid of Zelos, Kratos starts acting just as bad."

"Hey!" Zella yelled, the comment distracting her from thinking about Genis.

Kratos tilted his head to one side. "Um, excuse me? I'm very confused, and I would appreciate an explanation. Please."

* * *

The group complied first telling him their names, and then explaining the situation. However, they decided to keep some things secret. Kratos' true age, the cause of Anna's death, and the gender bending were just a few of the hidden topics. They didn't want to scare or confuse him this soon, after all. They kept secret from him the majority of his past, but told him enough to believe he'd lived a rather peaceful life with his daughter. They told him that they needed to find a mystical herb in the forest to cure an ailment one of their friends had contracted.

Kratos looked thoughtful. "Is this Zelos person the one who got it? Is that why he's not here?"

The members group looked at each other with both nerves and amusement. "I suppose you could say that." Sheena said. To her credit, she was able to keep a straight face while doing so.

After telling Kratos what the Mana Leaf Herb looked like, and warning not to touch any of the plants in the forest, the group set about their nightly routines. It was impossible to tell the time of day on Derris-Kharlan, but their internal clocks told them that it was time for resting. Dinner was a bit of a fiasco, though. Since most of the group had been wandering in the forest for most of the day, and Genis and Zella had been too distracted by other things, Raine had already started cooking while they were gone. And, as _most_ of the group remembered, Raine plus cooking equals vomiting.

Well, actually, vomiting is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is the flu. At least, that was the worst case that ever happened to the group. They didn't let Raine cook much after that.

Of course, Kratos didn't remember any of that, and eagerly took a piece of the dish she dubbed "Tomato Casserole." To go without saying, this was a bad choice. Not only was it _Raine's _cooking, but Kratos had apparently forgotten that he hated tomatoes. The result was him spitting it all over the ground, and then somehow accidentally casting Fire Ball on the rest of the casserole.

In response, Lydia and Sheena teamed up and made a combination of a secret dwarvish method of cooking meat and Mizuho curry, which was delicious. However, by the time they actually finished it, the group was too grumpy with hunger and fatigue to actually thank them.

Afterwards, they went to sleep, but forgot an important detail. Kratos, as an angel, didn't sleep. Lydia had apparently escaped this side-effect with her special Angelus Exsphere, and Colette was cured of her permanent insomnia way back when she had regained her voice. However, that meant that Kratos was utterly alone in staying awake, and he had no idea why.

It wasn't long before Kratos realized that he wasn't getting sleepy, so he decided to amuse himself with the only thing he could think of: exploring. He immediately set off on one of the paths that the group had cut and began walking.

* * *

Later that night...

Sheena's eyes fluttered open as she heard shuffling around the camp. "Hmm?" She groaned as she sat up and looked around. Then she spied Lydia, up and about. "Lydia, what's up?"

Lydia turned and looked at her. "Oh, Sheena, it's a good thing you're up."

The summoner tilted her head to one side. "It is? Why?"

Lydia blushed slightly. "It's just... there's something I need to talk to you about."

Sheena was perplexed, but answered, "Okay."

The swordswoman smiled. "Good, follow me." And Sheena did. Lydia led the female ninja down one of the previously cut paths and deep into the forest. After a short time, she stopped. "Alright, I think we're far enough."

Sheena, growing increasingly more confused, asked, "Far enough?"

"Yeah." Lydia nodded. "I have something serious to talk to you about, and I don't think the others should overhear."

"O...kay." Sheena said, utterly lost. "What is it?"

Lydia sighed. "Sheena, why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Sheena suddenly realized that for some reason, her eyes had strayed to Lydia's exposed cleavage. "I-I don't know..." She answered both defensively and truthfully.

Out of nowhere Lydia grabbed Sheena and pushed her up against a tree, holding her in place with her arms. "Sheena..." She moaned softly, gazing seductively at the summoner with half-lidded eyes. "I think you know why."

"I... I..." Sheena stammered as she felt her face turn red.

"It's very naughty to lie." Lydia said simply as she pressed her full body up against Sheena.The summoner let out a slight gasp as their ample breasts pressed against each other, hard. "Tell the truth." She commanded.

Sheena opened her mouth to protest, but Lydia responded before she could even speak. The red clad heroine pressed her lips firmly against the purple clad assassin's and began to kiss her with extreme vigor while Sheena stood paralyzed. Eventually, Lydia released her lips from Sheena's and starred at her while she panted. Watching Lydia's chest bounce up and down with every ragged breath was just too much for Sheena. "Lydia..." She said softly.

"Are you ready to tell the truth?" Lydia panted with a smirk.

"Lydia..." Sheena said quietly again and forcefully grabbed Lydia's head into her hands and brought the two into a ferocious, passionate kiss.

* * *

Sheena awoke with a gasp and quickly examined the camp. She sighed, realizing everyone was still asleep. _Don't want anyone finding out about _that _dream._ She thought. Now that she'd calmed down, she realized that she was drenched in sweat, but she was soon distracted by her own thoughts. _Why the hell would I dream that? I don't like Lydia like that. Lloyd, maybe, but not Lydia_. But even as she thought it, her mind drifted back to the dream. It had felt so _good _to do those things with Lydia. _Was I trying to tell myself something? Damn, I don't even know anymore..._

* * *

_"W-where am I?" Genis asked in confusion. He'd suddenly found himself in... where was he? If he had to guess, he'd say that he was in a Meltokio or Altamira hotel room, but that didn't make sense. He couldn't be in Meltokio! He was on Derris... Derris... Suddenly he couldn't think straight anymore. The mage had just realized that he wasn't the only one in the room. First, he spied Colette, clad only in a pair of very small and very frilly pink underwear. He blushed. He did not remember Colette's chest or hips protruding so much... She merely giggled softly as their eyes met. His eyes strayed to the next inhabitant and saw Lydia, dressed in what he could have sworn was a very revealing maid's outfit. Genis gulped and she too giggled. Next, he saw Sheena, dressed up like the bunny girls from Altamira. At this point, he was sweating, and she giggled like the first two. Finally, he spied Zella, wearing a tight leather bra and a skirt, with thigh-high boots, and holding what he thought was a whip. He bit his lower lip as he took in all four women he was seeing._

_Zella smirked. "Looks like we've got a nervous one, girls."_

_Sheena giggled. "Well then we should break the ice."_

_As though they all had the same mind, the four all moved at once and pushed Genis onto a large heart-shaped bed, and settled themselves in various positions both around and on him. They lay like this, for a time, but then the girls started to get antsy._

_"I'm first!" Colette moaned, repositioning herself so her breasts ever so softly brushed Genis' cheek. "Isn't that right, Genis?"_

_"Dream on!" Sheena said, pushing Colette away and rubbing Genis' chest vigorously with her hand. "What's better than a cute little bunny like me?" She asked, her voice oozing lust._

_Lydia casually slid up to the other side of Genis, in a position leaving her cleavage right in his face. "You know Genis, as a maid, I'll do __anything you want me to..."_

_Genis was getting increasingly nervous and tried to get up, but the girls were holding him down._

_"Enough!" Came a voice and Genis head a whip crack three times. Then Colette, Lydia and Sheena all let out quick, and also slightly seductive gasps. "__I'm first." Zella smirked as she straddled Genis and brought her lips down upon his, while the other three girls playfully lay nearby, all the while giggling and touching the half-elf._

* * *

Genis' eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, breathing heavily. _Calm down, it was just a dream. _He knew it was normal, and lay back down to and gradually drifted back to sleep

* * *

_It was such a great day! Presea and Genis were strolling through the Altamira theme park while holding hands, both laughing. It was the perfect day, Presea reflected. Perfect, that is, until some uninvited guests showed up._

_"Hey Genis!" Lydia said, cheerily walking over with Sheena and Zella._

_"H-hey you three. What's up?" Genis said, blushing as Presea fumed. Did those three have no modesty? Their outfits were so revealing that they might as well have been wearing nothing!_

_"Well, we were wondering if you wanted to go on the ferris wheel with us" Sheena answered Genis.  
_

_Genis smiled. "Sure! C'mon Presea-"_

_"-Actually." Lydia interrupted. "It's only four people to a car."_

_The half-elf looked devastated. "Well, I guess I can't go then..." He said, casting a grumpy look at Presea._

_"Awww, that's no fun." Zella said as the three girls pouted. "Up there, just the four of us, for such a long time..."_

_"Sounds great, then!" Genis said, beat red as he examined the three. "Let's go then!"_

_"W-wait!" Presea spoke up. "What about me?"_

_"Beat it sister." Sheena said cruelly. "He's with us."_

_"B-but..." Presea began, appealing desperately to Genis._

_"I'll catch up with you later." Genis said forcefully, giving Presea a look that said. 'Beat it. You're not wanted anymore.'_

_And with that, Genis left with the three young women, laughing all the way to the ferris wheel._

* * *

Presea's eyes opened like a shot. _It...it was just a dream._ She thought. She put a hand to her cheek and realized that it was wet with tears. She sighed, defeated, and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

_Blackness. A dark void. "Where am I?" Lydia asked no one in particular. Her voice just echoed eerily and then died down. "Hello?" She yelled. "Anybody here?"_

_"Leave this place." Said a dark voice. A voice Lydia knew too well. She whirled around and saw Lloyd Irving staring at her angrily. "Leave." Lloyd repeated._

_"What are you talking about?" Lydia asked irritably. "I can't just leave! It's not my fault Zelos turned me... turned you... changed my gender." She finished lamely. "I'll turn back once I get the chance."_

_"Really?" Lloyd said bitterly. "No you wont. You don't ever want to change back, do you?"_

_"O-of course I do!" Lydia lied._

_"I doubt it." Sheena said sarcastically, appearing next to Lloyd. "It's just like before."_

_"Yeah." Said Genis, appearing on Lloyd's other side. "I thought we were friends, but instead you ditch me once again!"_

_"Leave her alone!" Said Zelos, appearing next to Lydia. "She should stay this way!"_

_Despite her wishes, the instant she saw Zelos, all of Lyida's previous feelings were rekindled. She remembered back to a time when she couldn't stop thinking about him... a time when..._

_Genis sighed. "There she goes again, always sniffing after that pervert."_

_"How dare you?" Colette yelled, appearing on Lydia's side. "She has a right to feel this way! She has a right to stay the way she is now!"_

_"Stay out of this, Colette!" Sheena yelled back.  
_

_"No!" Colette yelled back. "She can't help it if she loves him!"_

_Sheena looked taken aback for a moment. "And what about those who love Lloyd?" She asked softly._

_"How can you be so cruel?" Genis yelled at Lydia. "You were my best friend... and Sheena... she really liked you! Change back!"_

_"Don't do it!" Zelos yelled also. "Stay this way!"_

_"Change back!"_

_"Stay this way!"_

_By now everyone was yelling. Everyone, that is, except for Lydia and Lloyd. They were pushed back-to-back to each other as Genis, Colette, Sheena and Zelos yelled at them from all angles. They were both suffering, both in pain._

_"Change back!"_

_"Stay this way!"_

* * *

Lydia's eyes shot open and she barely suppressed letting out a shout as she sat up. She looked up at the sky; gazing at the stars comforted her. Of course, she soon remembered that she was in the Gardens. There were many trees overhead and the sky she could see was covered with Derris-Kharlan's signature purple clouds. She stood up and began pacing as she thought. Before now, she had told herself that she would have to change back to Lloyd. That it would be easier... better. But, like last time, as time went on, she just got more confused.

She almost screamed in her frustration, but she was able to keep it in. _Damn it! _She cursed in her head instead, drawing the Vorpal Sword and stabbing it into a tree. Eventually, she calmed down and removed the sword, but sleeping was still out of the question. Instead, she took out the notepad she'd recieved from Raine and started sketching one of the plants, waiting for the others to wake.

* * *

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long, and the rest of the group began to stir. When they were all awake, Raine asked cheerily, "So, did everyone sleep well?"

"No." Lydia, Genis, Presea and Sheena answered grumpily.

However, conversation didn't go any farther than that. The group finally noticed that Kratos was missing, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

Wow, over 3,000 words! I'm pretty sure that that's a record for a single chapter in this series, regardless of how pathetically low it is. I was originally just going to write a dream for Sheena, but when I realized it could be a great insight into characters, I just couldn't stop! Speaking of Sheena's dream, I didn't italicize that one because I figured I might be able to fool some of the readers into thinking that it was actually happening. At least for a bit. And just so you all are aware, Sheena and Genis' dreams weren't simply there for fanservice. They _do _have a purpose!

I'd say "Next chapter soon," but you should know me better by now! Of course, reviews are always welcome and motivational for me to write more, so get reviewing! Even something simple like "update plz kthnxbai" would be appreciated (of course, I do prefer longer ones than that)


	10. The Pond

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Alright, fair warning, but things are going to get just a tad intense. Nothing explicit or anything, but still more extreme than in previous chapters. However, I implore that you keep reading! That bit I'm mentioning will actually be really important later on, and will also hopefully be the last scene like such for a while.

Chapter 10

Upon learning that Kratos was missing, the entire camp worked itself into a frenzy.

"Where could he have gone?" Lydia shouted, agitated.

"Calm down." Raine said. "We told Kratos how dangerous it was to get near the plants, so we know he didn't just walk into the forest."

"If that's true," Sheena began, "Then he must have gone down one of those previously cut paths." She motioned at the four paths leading in different directions from the camp. "He either went down the path he was found at, the one Colette and Presea cut during their walk, the one Zella cut, or the one leading back to Welgia."

Lydia thought for a moment. "Well, the angels would probably take care of him if he went that way, so I think we should check the other three paths first."

Raine nodded. "That's a good idea. If we split up, we should be able to search those three paths in less than an hour, and if we still don't find him we can go to Welgia."

"Okay then!" Lydia said, obviously in a hurry to get the search underway. "Sheena and I will search this path." She grabbed her bag and quickly set off down one of the paths, but stopped when she realized Sheena wasn't coming. She turned and saw the summoner rooted in place, staring nervously, almost fearfully at her and the path. "Sheena? Come on! We have to find Kratos!"

Sheena, however, was having difficulty moving. The path Lydia was suggesting looked like the same one the two had gone down in her dream... She grew increasingly nervous as she thought about her fantasy and, whether she'd admit it or not, how much she'd enjoyed it. It had to be just a coincidence that they would be going down the same path. It just _had_ to be! Still, though, fate works in interesting ways sometimes. She reflected. "Lydia, I don't-" She tried to protest, but Lydia was too worried about Kratos to hear her out.

"Come _on_!" Lydia commanded, grabbing Sheena's arm and pulling her down the path. "You five search the other two paths!" She shouted back over her shoulder.

"Meet back here as soon as possible!" Raine called after her. She would have chosen a more specific time, but it was impossible to tell exact time on Derris-Kharlan.

In the frantic planning, Zella saw her chance. "Here, I'll search this path. Quickly, someone come with me. Uh," She pretended to franticly point randomly at the four remaining searchers, and just _happened _to pick Genis. "Genis! Come on!"

"H-huh?" Genis asked as Zella grabbed him by the hand and quickly led him down another path.

Presea immediately had flashbacks to her dream from the night before. Although she'd promised herself she wouldn't become the jealous, suspicious type, she couldn't help but think about Genis abandoning her for girls who were more physically attractive. She tried to follow them, but in the confusion she got swept up by Raine and Colette, as they ran down the third path.

"Presea, Colette, you're with me!" Raine yelled, taking charge. "Let's go!" She hurriedly pushed them into the path and followed.

Presea, though worried, calmed down a bit. _I shouldn't worry so much. They're too busy looking for Kratos to do anything else, right?_

* * *

Zella pushed Genis up against a tree, gazing sensually at him. "Genis..." She practically moaned.

Genis instantaneously had flashbacks to his embarrassing, yet enjoyable dream, and blushed deeply. "Z-Zella? What are you doing?" He questioned, trying to keep from stuttering. "W-we need to b-be looking for K-Kratos."

Zella sighed, and looked around, still not releasing the half-elf from her grip. "Well, I'm looking and I don't see him. In fact, I don't see _anyone. _We could get away with all sorts of _things_..." She suggested very unsubtly. She leaned her face closer to his, closing her eyes.

Genis did the same, but caught himself just before their lips touched. "N-No!" He broke from her grip and walked away. "I can't do this."

"Why not?" Zella asked, pouting.

"You're ZELOS!" He turned and practically yelled at her.

Zella sighed. "I told you, I'm not Zelos anymo-"

"Say that all you like." Genis interrupted. "But it's not true. I mean, you hardly look any different!" He pointed at her clothes.

Zella thought for a moment. It was true, her clothes were nearly identical to those she wore as Zelos. She supposed it made sense for Genis to be unable to think of her as anyone different. She was close to cursing herself, to throwing a fit, or something similar, but then a great thought crossed her mind. "Fine." She sighed. "I guess you're right, Genis. I guess we should look for Kratos before we do anything else."

Genis looked relieved. "That's good."

Zella smiled and cheerfully grabbed his hand. "C'mon! Let's go look for Kratos!" She ran with Genis down the path as she began to formulate her plan. Genis didn't like her because he kept thinking of her as Zelos... well then, she'd just have to fix that!"

* * *

"Sheena? Is something wrong?" Lydia asked the summoner as they briskly walked down the previously cut path. "You don't seem very focused."

Sheena blushed. "It's... it's nothing. I must still be tired. I... um... didn't get much sleep last night."

"Join the club." Lydia sighed.

The summoner gave a small laugh, but suddenly stopped. "Lydia, look at this!" The two were in a large clearing, standing in front of what appeared to be a staircase leading underground. Unbeknown to them, this was the same clearing that Presea and Colette had previously discovered. In all the confusion with the amnesiac Kratos, the two had neglected to mention it.

"You don't think Kratos went down there, do you?" Lydia asked apprehensively.

"It's possible." Sheena responded with a shrug. "Should we check it out?"

Lydia nodded. "We probably should." With that, she set off down the stairs. "Coming, Sheena?"

"Yeah. I'll be down in just a second." Sheena said. "I first want to check out the rest of this clearing." The more she could stay away from Lydia, the less she would have to deal with these uncomfortable situations.

"Alright. Just be careful." Lydia said.

Sheena didn't know why, but she blushed at Lydia's concern. "Yeah... you too."

As Lydia set off down the stairs, Sheena began a quick search of the clearing. However, there really wasn't much to see. The ground here was covered in metal plating, so there wasn't really anywhere for Kratos to hide, on the off-chance that he'd wanted to. "Damn it." Sheena muttered. A part of her wanted to sprint down those stairs, embrace Lydia, and never let go. She shook her head. Sheena had so far been able to suppress these desires that she just realized she'd been having, but as time passed, the ferocity of her lust grew. If she could avoid her friend, the summoner hoped she'd be able to keep those spontaneous urges under control.

To stall, Sheena began examining the perimeter of the clearing. It was surrounded by plants, which she made sure not to touch. However, she stopped for a second when she noticed a small gap in the foliage. "What's this?" The trees here were thinner, farther apart. _Could Kratos have gone down here? _She glanced back at the clearing. She should probably tell Lydia, but she had the feeling she'd just get tongue-tied. _It'll be fine as long as I don't wander far. _

The voluptuous and confused ninja carefully made her way past the thin trees and found herself in a much larger clearing. Unlike the one with the metal floor, or their magic-made camp, this one seemed more natural, as she spied the occasional tree with its branches protruding far overhead. However, that wasn't what got her attention. The majority of the clearing was taken up by a body of purple water. Sheena approached the pond and sat down to examine the liquid. Purple might not have been the best way to describe the water, she reflected. Just as real water wasn't pure blue, this liquid was clear with a tint of purple.

For some reason, Sheena found this water completely enchanting. For a short time, even thoughts of Lydia vanished, and it was all Sheena could do to stare at her reflection in this beautiful water. She smiled and ran her right hand through the water and let out a gasp. The water... it felt _wonderful_! She quickly removed the large piece of cloth covering her arm and hand, and plunged her bare hand into the pond. Sheena shuddered in delight. The magical liquid felt purely intoxicating on her bare skin. She _had _to feel more!

As fast as she could, Sheena grabbed at the large pink bow around her waist and fumbled to get it off. If she hadn't been in such a hurry, she probably would have been able to remove it faster, but she was unable to remain calm as she could still feel the wonderful droplets on her right hand. What's more, as she quickly and systematically removed her clothes, any part of her body touched by that hand tingled in excitement.

It wasn't long before the summoner had stripped down to her underwear, and despite being driven utterly mad for the water, she still retained a small sense of modesty. Keeping her undergarments on, she slipped into the water, shuddering in pleasure as more and more of her body was submerged in the wonderful liquid.

* * *

"Sheena?" Lydia asked, climbing out of the underground chamber. Oddly, Sheena had never followed her down. Not that there had been much to see. Right at the bottom of the stairs, the Eternal Swordswoman had been stopped by a large, password protected door. The good news was that since Lydia had been unable to get past the door, it was unlikely that Kratos would have been able to. Regardless of the usefulness (or lack thereof) of the search of the underground room, the fact that Sheena never followed was troubling. "Sheena?" She called out again. "Are you here?" Lydia paused and listened for a response. Instead, she heard another noise in the distance. She strained her ears, and thought she heard splashing and... giggling?

"Sheena?" Lydia called out again, following the sound of the giggling. Soon, she too reached the clearing and immediately noticed Sheena's purple garments piled on the ground with her bag near a pond filled with violet water. She looked at the water, and saw Sheena, wearing only a white bra and panties, happily backstroking through the liquid and playfully laughing as she did so. "Um... Sheena? What are you doing?"

Sheena stopped her backstroke and gazed up at Lydia. She was silent for a second, and then giggled. "What does it look like? I'm swimming." She answered playfully, wading back towards the shore.

Lydia cocked her head to one side. What could be making Sheena act so ridiculous? And in the middle of the search for Kratos, no less! In her concern, she was able to, for the most part, ignore the enchanting water and cast her eyes about. It wasn't long before she noticed that some of the odd plants had drooped into the water. _Could those be affecting the water?_ She wondered. "Sheena! Quickly! Get out of there! It might be dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Sheena laughed. "Lydia, it's fine. It's just water."

Lydia got a little closer to the pond, but still made sure to stay a safe distance away. "Sheena, come on. We have to look for Kratos."

Sheena stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "It's always Kratos, Kratos, Kratos, with you. What about me?"

"You?" Lydia asked, confused.

The summoner felt emboldened in this water, like she could do anything. Unfortunately, that meant that she was finally ready to act on those urges of hers. She leaped out of the pond and grabbed Lydia in a tight embrace. Before the red-clad girl knew what was going on, Sheena had firmly pressed their lips, as well as their entire bodies, tightly together.

It didn't take long for Lydia to react. She quickly pushed Sheena off and started to yell at the summoner. "Just what do you think you're..." She stopped. Sheena had been dripping wet when she embraced her, and every part of her body that Sheena touched was now wet as well. Lydia brought one hand to her wet lips and the other to her exposed, now dripping, cleavage. She shuddered at the wonderful feeling. "Sheena... what... what is this?" She asked in amazement, unable to stop herself.

"I don't know, but this water causes it." The summoner answered, diving back into the pond. She popped her head out and giggled. "Come on in!"

Lydia was unable to control herself. The search for Kratos, Sheena's advances, even her own gender bending didn't matter any more. All that mattered was feeling the water on her skin again. She too, began to quickly undress, but didn't make it as far as Sheena. After removing her long boots from Altamira, Lydia couldn't contain herself anymore. She dived into the pond, clothes and all. "Oh!" She let out a loud shout of pleasure. Unlike Sheena, who had slowly submerged herself for the first time, Lydia had covered her whole body with the water almost instantly. Words could not describe the magical effects of the wonderful liquid on her nerves.

"Magical, isn't it?" Sheena asked.

"Yes." Lydia responded with a short gasp.

Sheena quickly grabbed Lydia and kissed her fiercely, which Lydia reciprocated. Although she didn't have any particular feelings for Sheena personally, the water had lowered her inhibitions. The water's intoxicating effects were working like an extreme alcohol, making Lydia completely open to the summoner's advances.

* * *

Raine, Colette and Presea returned to camp to see Genis already there. Both groups had gone down fairly short paths and had been able to return quickly. However, Zella was mysteriously absent.

"Genis, what happened to Zella?" Colette asked.

Genis shrugged. "I don't really know. She seemed dead set on going to Welgia and wouldn't listen to me when I told her to stop." He blushed.

Raine shook her head. "Honestly, what am I going to do with her? I suppose we should go look for her."

"What about Lydia and Sheena?" Presea asked.

"They can probably handle themselves." Raine explained. "I'm more worried about Kratos and Zella. Neither of them are very responsible, and if Lydia and Sheena don't find him, then both of them will be in Welgia."

Colette nodded. "That makes sense. I'm sure Sheena and Lydia can handle themselves."

* * *

Unfortunately, Colette couldn't have been more wrong. The two in question both rolled onto the bank of the pond, both laying on their backs and breathing hard. Who knew kissing could be such a workout?

"Hey, Sheena." Lydia said, turning and looking at Sheena.

"Yes, Lydia?" Sheena asked, gazing adoringly back at her.

"It's not really fair for us to stay here and not tell the others about this amazing place." Lydia said thoughtfully.

Sheena sighed. She kind of hoped it could remain their little secret, but she, like Lydia, was in a very suggestible state. "I suppose that's true. That's so thoughtful of you." She gave her a quick kiss on the lips and the two stood up and began their trek back to camp.

On the way, though, Lydia's thoughts began to come back into focus. She hadn't spent as much time in the water as Sheena, so it must have been wearing off faster. She stopped in her tracks. "What are we doing?"

"What do you mean?" Sheena asked, taking her arm. "We were going to tell the others about the pond. What a sweet idea from a sweet girl." She moved in to kiss her, but Lydia pushed her away.

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Lydia yelled. "That water, it's affecting both you and me!"

Sheena giggled. "What are you talking about? Come on, just kiss me again." She grabbed at Lydia, who evaded her grasp.

"Sheena, try to focus. You're drunk, or something, on that water!" Even as she said it, Lydia wanted to return to the pond and go swimming in the amazing water again. She suppressed that urge. It would go away as it wore off more. "Focus, Sheena! We can't go back there!"

"That's crazy!" Sheena yelled. "Come on, let's go back. I love you!"

"No!" Lydia shouted. "That's just that water talking!"

"No it's not!" Sheena shouted, lunging at Lydia. Lydia didn't know what Sheena planned, but didn't stick around to find out. She quickly activated her angel wings and took to the sky.

"LYDIA! Come back!" Sheena yelled desperately after her, but Lydia was already gone. In retrospect, she realized as she flew, it probably would have been better to apprehend Sheena instead of run away, but her mind was still a bit foggy from the water.

Lydia eventually found her way to a clearing and landed. _I should be able to rest here._ She thought and looked around. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. In front of her was a gigantic plant a large flower with alternating blue and violet petals. "No way..." She gasped, as she looked at the plant. It looked just like the gender bending flower, but it was ten times as big. _Could this one be more powerful than the others?_ Maybe it could overpower the pollen in her body and change her back. Still partially under the influence of the water, Lydia didn't think, and just shoved her face right up next to the flower. It expelled pollen which she breathed in deeply, and then lost consciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the recently rebuilt city of Palmacosta...

A young blond boy was busy doing his daily chores when he suddenly felt a strange sensation. Emil Castagnier paused from his work and looked at the sky. "...I don't know how I know... but in five days... something unbelievable will happen."

* * *

Hohoho! That's right! Emil! I betcha didn't see that coming! On that note, Emil is the main character in Tales of Symphonia 2, coming out in Japan in, you guessed it, five days! Although it's not coming out in the States 'till fall/winter, I'm still really excited! That scene with Emil was more or less just a little cameo, but I've set up a poll on my profile on if he and other ToS2 characters should make more important appearances. Go vote!

Oh, and regarding that little scene with Lydia and Sheena, it's actually going to be very important to the story later on, so don't think it's just fanservice. For those of you that don't like that kind of thing, don't worry, that's going to probably be the last Lydia/Sheena scene for a while, for reasons you'll probably see in the next chapter.

Next chapter (and Tales of Symphonia 2) coming very soon! Please review!

* * *


	11. Back to Normal? Or Not

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco

Alright, I'm gonna level with you guys and gals. I must apologize for the borderline yuri scene in the previous chapter. Yes, I know some of you liked it, but the majority seemed to find it too much. I've finally discovered the problem, though. When I first started the series, I focused on awkward, and plausible, yet random humor. However, over time, it evolved into just sex humor, which was getting dangerously close to being just sex.

Therefore, I'm going to tone it down a bit, and try to return (sort of) to the way things were. Oh, there'll still be some relationship stuff going gone, but nothing nearly as explicit as the previous chapter.

Once again, sorry, to those of you I may have alienated, and I appreciate those of you that have made it this far.

Chapter 11

"Ugh..." Lydia groaned as she sat up and looked around. "Wha' happen?" The swordswoman mumbled very inarticulately and in a surprisingly deep voice. She had a splitting headache and was very thirsty... Suddenly she remembered her intoxicated escapades from the night before. It was fuzzy, but she shuddered at what she _did _remember.

Trying not to think about it, Lydia slowly got to her feet, stumbled a bit due to her center of gravity being off, and surveyed the area around her. She saw purple plants and a purple sky... "That's right, I'm on Derris-Kharlan, aren't I...?" and she also saw a gigantic flower with blue and violet petals. "Wait a second..." _Different center of balance... deeper voice... gender bender flower..._

_Oh, snap._

* * *

Yuan stared out the window of the Triet Renegade base with a troubled look on his face. Of course, troubled was an understandable feeling. The entire desert was covered with snow as far as his angelic-enhanced eyes could see. He had noticed it getting considerably colder in the Triet Desert ever since the worlds were reunited, but _snow_?_ Could merging the worlds really have affected the climate this much?_ He sighed. The scientists _had_ predicted it as a possible aftereffect, but he still couldn't believe that this was Triet and not the Flanior Base!

Before Yuan could contemplate this any more, though, he was interrupted by a scientist bursting in. "Lord Yuan!" The scientist shouted.

"Don't you people ever knock?" Yuan growled. It was just getting ridiculous how often people were just bursting in on him. Sure, the worlds were saved, but that didn't mean soldiers could suddenly just start waltzing around as they pleased! _Good help is so hard to find._

"My apologies, Lord Yuan." The scientist said with a salute. "But we just received word from Derris-Kharlan, and you told us to inform you right when that happened-"

"Derris-Kharlan?" Yuan was instantly interested. This was big, no, _enormous_ news! Contact with Derris-Kharlan? Until just recently, he would have never thought it possible. With unlimited access to Welgian technology, the Renegades, nay, the entire planet would benefit! "I see. I will be there immediately."

A very short walk later, Yuan was with his scientists, looking at, for the first time in months, a Welgian Angel.

"Lord Yuan of the Four Seraphim." She said with a bow. "It is very fortunate that we were able to get this transporter fixed after such a short time. This technology is amazing."

"Well yes, it is, if I do say so my--what do you mean 'get this transporter fixed?'" Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Before the angel could respond, though, Zella appeared out of the same tile on the floor that had produced the angel. "Hi Yuan, bye Yuan!" She said as she eagerly sprinted out of sight seconds after appearing.

_What the hell was that about? _Yuan thought.

* * *

"So wait a second here... I'm like, your king or something?

"Not exactly 'King,' per say. Are you feeling alright, Lord Kratos?" A very confused angel asked the Seraph.

"Well, whatever." Kratos said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "As your king, or lord, or whatever the heck I am, I command you! Find me the best hotel you've got!" He looked thoughtful for a second, and then pointed at another random angel. "You there! Get me a smoothie!"

The angel was about to ask Kratos what the hell he was talking about, when the first angel whispered to him, "Just do what he says. Lord Kratos has been constantly testing us lately. This is probably just another test to see if we'll obey his orders without question."

The second angel didn't say anything for a second and then muttered. "I think I miss Yggdrasil."

"Yeah, me too." The first angel muttered, casting a glance at Kratos who was laughing manically as he stole a third angel's hat and ran off.

* * *

Lloyd Irving smiled as he finished putting on his old, male, clothes. Sure, he felt a little off now, but he knew that soon he'd feel like his old self again, and he just had to put up with the change until then. "Thank Martel that I brought my bag with me." He said. If he'd had to go back to camp in his Lydia outfit... well, that would've been a little awkward. Speaking of camp, he probably needed to find it first... His large spectral wings appeared as the Eternal Swords_man_ took to Derris-Kharlan's skies. From up there, he could easily spot a few clearings in the normally dense jungle and set about exploring them. It wasn't long before he found his way back to the purple pond that he had spent a very odd night at previously. Lloyd shuddered. _Sheena's scary,_ He thought as he landed.

As he looked at the pond, Lloyd felt inexplicably drawn towards it, but quickly turned away an started walking back towards the gap in the trees near the clearing with the underground steps. He hadn't made it far when he came across Sheena's discarded clothes as well as "his" boots. Willing himself to not look at the pond, he quickly packed the clothes into his bag and rushed out of the clearing. _The faster I get out of here, the better!_

He set back off into the angel-made clearing, and then started down the path back to came. It wasn't long, however before Lloyd came across another distraction. This particular distraction came in the form of a turquoise-haired woman huddled in the path, apparently sleeping.

"Hey, are you all right?" Lloyd asked, touching her shoulder. The woman opened her eyes, startled. Then, she blushed, and tried to cover her naked body as best she could. Lloyd, too, blushed and averted his eyes. Of course, she just _had _to be naked... "Um... would you like some clothes?" He asked lamely, digging his Lydia clothes out of the bag and handing them to her, all the while staring at a tree.

"Y-yes... thank you." The woman said timidly, taking the clothes and getting dressed as Lloyd politely turned his back. "Sorry about this... this must be very awkward for you..."

_For me?_ Lloyd thought. _I find her naked and she worries if it's awkward for _me_? Who is she, Colette?_

"So, what can I call you?" She asked, obviously trying to change to conversation.

The swordsman was tempted to say 'Give me your name, and I'll give you mine!' but decided better of it and responded with: "I'm Lyd-I mean, my name is Lloyd."

"Lloyd, huh?" She questioned, tilting her head to one side.

"Yeah," Lloyd answered. "What's your name?"

The woman opened her mouth, but paused. "I... I can't remember, come to think of it, I can't really remember anything."

Lloyd sighed. _Great..._ The flower that affected Kratos must have given the girl amnesia as well, he concluded. "Come with me. We'll figure something out back at camp.

However, when the two returned to the campground, they found it surprisingly empty except for Sheena, asleep and clad only in her underwear. Lloyd blushed. _Wow, two in the same day? They're lucky I'm not completely back to normal yet... and they're definitely lucky I'm not Zelos! _"Um... Sheena?" He said, carefully nudging her.

Sheena's eyes fluttered open and beheld the swordsman. "Lydia..." She muttered drowsily. Suddenly, the situation dawned on her, and she leaped to her feet with a crimson blush. "Lloyd! LLOYD! What... how....?" She practically shouted. "Look, about last night... um..."

"Yeah." Lloyd cut her off awkwardly, trying to avoid the conversation. "I..."

"Yeah." Sheena responded just as awkwardly.

Acting as nonchalant as possible, Lloyd reached into his pack and produced Sheena's clothes, which he handed to her. "I found your..."

"Thanks." Sheena said, grabbing the clothes, and getting dressed while Lloyd turned his back for the second time that day. "Were they at the-"

"Yeah." Lloyd interrupted her question. "The pon-"

"I see." Sheena muttered, obviously wanting to avoid naming the pond. "Look I'm really..."

"It's fine." Lloyd said. "The water..."

"Yeah, it was the water." Sheena said quickly.

"Yeah."

Ah... uncomfortable silences... where would the world be without you?

It was just then when Sheena noticed the newcomer dressed as Lydia. "Wait, who the hell is that?"

"She can't remember anything." Lloyd explained. "Just like Kratos. Maybe she's an angel from Welgia?"

"But she doesn't have any wings." Sheena pointed out.

"Maybe they're like Colette's." Lloyd countered. "You know... all pink and see-throughy..."

"Transparent?"

"Yeah, that's the word! Trans-Parents!"

The new woman looked confused. "Wait... an angel? Does that mean I'm dead?" She asked, eyes brimming with tears.

"N-no! Of course not!" Sheena and Lloyd quickly shouted out denials to calm the turquoise-haired woman. "Look, let's just go back to Welgia." Sheena muttered. "The others aren't here, so they must be there instead."

Lloyd shrugged. "Makes sense."

* * *

"What the hell?" Raine couldn't help but mutter upon seeing the ludicrous image upon entering Welgia. She didn't normally curse, especially in front of her little brother, but _seriously?_ Why on Martel's green earth was Kratos sitting on a large golden throne, slurping what appeared to be a _smoothie _and laughing his apparently now-insane head off as angels scurried busily beneath him.

"Stop slacking, men! Those pyramids aren't going to build themselves!" He command, way goofier than Kratos should _ever _be acting.

Raine quickly ascended the steps to the throne (_Where on earth did they get this in such a short time?_) and grabbed Kratos by the ear. "Come on, Kratos, you're coming with us." She paused as she noticed the entire body of the angels staring at her in awe. "Sorry about this. Kratos has... temporarily... become mentally... broken." She explained far less articulately than she'd spoken in years. "Please disregard all orders he's given in the past few hours." She finished, only to see the angels still staring at her. "Um... carry on?"

The angels erupted into cheers and set off on their tasks they'd been working on _before_ Kratos had come back from the Gardens, except for one angel. This angel approached Raine, Genis, Presea, Colette and the whining Kratos. Ignoring the amnesic Seraph's cries of 'mutiny,' the angelic scientist quickly explained that they had fixed the transporter, that they'd made contact with the Renegades. and that Zella had taken it back to Triet.

"Great..." Raine muttered.

"What's the matter?" Colette asked.

"I don't know what the hell Zella's up to, but knowing her, it can't be good. We should get down there right now." Raine explained.

"I-I dunno, she's probably fine..." Genis stammered. He didn't really desire to have another encounter with the gender-bent Chosen any time soon. Or did he...? He shook his head, to get rid of the thoughts. _That's just so gross on _so _many levels!_

Presea picked up on Genis' odd actions. "What's wrong Genis?" She asked in an overly concerned voice.

"Uh... nothing." Genis lied. "I'm just still a bit tired... I didn't sleep well last night."

Presea was pretty sure there was more to the topic than that, but didn't pursue it further. After all, _she_ hadn't slept very well either!

Colette put her hands on her hips in a very un-Colette-like manner. "Well, are we going to get going, or what? I'm getting pretty sick of all the purple around here."

Raine, Genis and Presea just rounded on Colette and stared at her. That was _not _how Colette was supposed to act! Raine recovered first. "Colette, are you feeling all right?"

Colette shook her head. "Well, no. I mean, how long have we been away from home?"

"We've only been on Derris-Kharlan for a day or two..." Presea answered.

"Well, yeah, but what about the time it took to fly here, remember?" Colette asked. "It's got to have been at least a week that we've been out here in outer space."

Genis was about to make a smart-alecky comment, when he remembered Colette's role in his embarrassing dream, making his snide retort into more of a lame question. "So, what's your point?"

"My point is, it can't be healthy!" Colette said. "Just look at Raine! She's gotten so thin!" It was true. The change was subtle, so they hadn't really noticed it, but Raine was indeed thinner than she had been. However, if anything, she appeared _more_ healthy, but Colette ignored this point. Eventually, though, the group decided to stop bickering and decided to go after Zella anyways, leaving a message behind with the angels for Lydia and Sheena.

* * *

Yuan had just finally returned to quarters when yet another soldier burst in. "_What NOW_?" He growled as blue lightning crackled around his body.

"I'm s-so sorry, my lord." The unfortunate soldier stammered, "but some of the Reunification Heroes have returned and-"

Yuan sighed and the electricity died down, but didn't seem very interested. "_And?_ When the Chosen came back, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the others returned."

"Well, yes, sir... but..." He began.

"What?" Yuan asked. "Did they bring the Mana Leaf Herb?"

The soldier shook his head, irritated at the blue-haired Seraph's interruptions, but unable to do anything about them and continued. "No sir... but Lord Kratos seems to be acting quite oddly..."

That's right, Kratos now had a means of returning, didn't he? "Oddly how?" Yuan asked.

Before the soldier could answer, Kratos zoomed into the room _on a Rheiard_, burst through a well, and flew out over the snow-covered desert, followed by Genis, Colette, Presea, and Raine.

"Dammit, Kratos! Get back here!" Raine demanded, but to no avail. She doubted Kratos even _knew _how to fly the thing well enough to get back. The four quickly opened their wing packs, boarded Rheairds and chased after Kratos.

_What the hell was THAT about? _Yuan thought incredulously.

* * *

"...So, not to pry into other people's business, but what _did_ happen between you two last night?" The turquoise-haired woman inquired as she, Lloyd and Sheena were continuing their hike back towards Welgia.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sheena muttered.

"Yeah, me neither." Lloyd responded.

"That's too bad." The woman said with a knowing smile. "You know, your relationship won't heal unless you talk about it."

"Relationship?" Lloyd asked obliviously.

"N-no! It's nothing like that!" Sheena yelled defensively.

The woman smiled. "Oh, you don't have to hide it. I saw how you two were talking back there. It was really quite sweet."

"Sweet?" Lloyd asked. "Talking like what? I don't get it."

"We're not like that!" Sheena shouted, bright red.

The woman shrugged. "I don't know... you two look like an item to me... at least from what I've seen from your earlier conversations..."

"Wait..." Lloyd said, comprehension dawning on him. "You mean, like, _in love_?" He grimaced at his feminine use of the word 'like,' but then ignored it.

"That's what it looks like to me." She said with another shrug. "Honestly, you two need to just kiss and make up already."

"Now wait a minute..." Lloyd began.

"You've known us for, what? A few hours?" Sheena asked. "How can you assume that already?"

The woman shrugged a third time. "All I know is what I've seen from your conversations so far. Clearly, something awkward happened last night, and I can only guess what."

Lloyd and Sheena turned bright red, but before they could protest, the woman just sat down on a purple log with a sigh. "Anyways, I'm tired. Can we rest here for a bit?"

"Fine!" Lloyd and Sheena both yelled and attempted to sit down on the same purple tree stump. Needless to say, they didn't both fit and toppled to the ground. Flustered, they both got up and walked in opposite directions, while the woman smiled playfully at the chaos she had unknowingly (or was it knowingly?) created.

"I'm going for a walk." Lloyd said.

"Same here." Sheena responded. Unfortunately, there were only two ways to go on their paths, and they both started down the same direction. They both blushed, exasperated, but neither seemed willing to give to path to the other. As they walked, and got farther away from the woman's scrutinizing eye, they began to relax. "That was weird." Sheena said lamely.

"Yeah." Lloyd said, stopping. "I can't believe she was trying to tell us we were a couple." Still, he couldn't stop thinking about her words, reverberating in his skull like a spell.... Maybe it was just his hormones out of wack due his recent transformation... but what if...?

"I know what you mean." Sheena said, rolling her eyes. "Who does she think she is?" However, Sheena too was thinking about the words, besides, she'd already had a crush on Lloyd for a while now...

"It's crazy." Lloyd said, leaning his face close to hers.

"Completely insane." Sheena agreed, just as their lips met in a soft, yet passionate kiss.

* * *

Marta Lualdi stopped her daily routine for a moment. _Today feels... special..._

* * *

Lloyd's eyes flickered open, and found himself lying with a sleeping Sheena on the ground, wrapped in each other's arms. _What the hell? How did I get here? _The last thing he could remember was their lip-lock, and then suddenly nothing! _Wait a minute... don't tell me...._ However, he quickly noticed that they were both still wearing their clothes. However, he was distracted by something else: namely his bulging chest.

Lloyd, or rather, Lydia yelled in a high voice she thought she'd just gotten rid of: "Son of a BITCH!"

* * *

Wait, what? What the hell is going on here? Well, my friends, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Oh, and that's right: STRAIGHT pairings! (Or is it...?) I bet you'd forgotten about those, hadn't you?

Anyways, sorry for the lack of updates, but once I played Tales of Vesperia, the Symphonia characters just no longer seemed interesting to me. However, with Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World being released TODAY (yes, that's why I included Marta in it), I'll hopefully be re-inspired and get interested again. However, I have to beat it first...

Review! Next chapter might not be soon, but why don't you get ToS2 to tide you over for a while? As for me, I'm going to do that right now (zoom!)


	12. Pollen Laced Lipstick? Again?

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey guys! I'm back! I apologize for the long delay. I must say, I am glad I didn't randomly throw in Emil or Marta because my plans for them would have completely contradicted the events of the new game. After beating it, I originally tried to make a one-shot Gender Bending spin-off involving Emil and Marta, but it ended up not going anywhere. I'll tell you right now that no Dawn of the New World characters show up in this chapter, but keep your eyes peeled; now that I know their roles, they could appear at any time! Don't worry about spoilers, though. I'll be sure to keep anything about them vague, and if not I'll put a warning beforehand.

As for this chapter, summer has started in my neck of the woods so now I have some free time; free time that I intend to spend updating my stories.

Chapter 12

"No, no no no _NO_!" Lydia muttered in increasing frustration as she paced back and forth and tried to keep her male clothing from falling off. This just didn't make sense; She was back to normal! What could have happened? It didn't help that Sheena was still laying there sleeping and looking perfectly content at a time like this. Lydia crossed franticly over to the sleeping summoner. "Sheena, wake _up_!" She shouted.

"Mmmm..." Sheena moaned as her eyes flickered open. "Lydia..." She said groggily. Suddenly, her eyes shot open. "L-_Lydia_!" She shouted, scrambling to her feet with a blush. "Wh-what happened!? I thought-I mean, you were-"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Lydia said, absentmindedly tightening her two belts. "But I guess not." She changed the subject. "Look, do you remember anything after we kissed?"

"No," Sheena said, shaking her head. "I can remember up to that, and then nothing."

"Damn it." Lydia muttered. "So it's not just me." _What's happening to me? To all of us?_

"So we have no idea how long we were out..." Sheena concluded. "Wait, then what do you think happened to that odd girl?"

Lydia, who had been too preoccupied with her own problems, suddenly remembered the amnesiac young woman they'd met. "Oh no, you're right!"

Without another word, the two sprinted down the path back to the clearing, but the odd woman was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Raine muttered. They'd finally calmed Kratos down, but they still had no idea where Zella had gone. This wasn't good. Now that they'd had some time to rest, Raine's inner-scientist began making connections. She felt a little rusty, or rather, inexperienced for some odd reason, but that didn't stop her from connecting the fairly obvious dots. _When Lloyd and Zelos originally changed, they kept their original personalities for the most part... _She eyed Kratos who was attempting to balance his shield on his head. _However, when under the influence of another plant, people seem to lose their common sense. _She was particularly referring to Kratos, but she also cited Lydia's irresponsible flight to Altamira. _In which case they often run off without a word. _If her conclusion was correct..."I need your attention everyone." She said, standing up out of the snow-covered desert (which _was_ very peculiar, but she decided to focus on one catastrophe at a time).

"What's up, sis?" Genis asked, shaken from his own musings. Presea and Colette looked at her as well, and even Kratos took the shield off his head to hear what she had to say.

"I believe that Zelos is under the influence of another plant besides the one that turned him into Zella." Raine said gravely.

"Wait, what now?" Kratos said, giving her his full attention for the first time. "You mean to tell me that Zella is actually-"

Raine ignored him and continued. "Therefore we need to treat everything she does with caution, but we must not risk alarming her either. We don't know how else she may have been affected. Now, I suggest we get back to searching for her. Any suggestions as to where to look?"

"Maybe she went back to Meltokio?" Genis guessed.

"Logically, that would be the most likely place she'd go." Presea said matter-of-factly.

"Or maybe Altamira?" Colette suggested hopefully.

"What about Zaphias?" Kratos asked, getting many odd looks from the group. "What? The rest of you got to say a weird name and I didn't want to be left out!"

Raine sighed in exasperation. "Anyway, I think that our best bet is probably Meltokio, like Presea said, but unfortunately Zella is likely very unpredictable in her current state. We probably _should_ split up..." She looked at the entire group for a second and changed her mind. "However, I don't think we should separate any more than necessary. We all know how that tends to turn out." She made a subtle gesture towards Kratos.

"I don't get it." Kratos said, scratching his head.

* * *

Zella smirked, admiring herself in a mirror. When it comes to accentuating your best attributes, there was nothing better than the shops in Altamira. Let's see anyone confuse her with Zelos again!

She was just about set to leave when she noticed a large shop out of the corner of her eye with a sign in the window labeled 'Magic Lipstick for sale! Increase the passion in your relationship with products containing pollen from the elven forest!' This caught Zella's attention. _Elven forest, huh? Do they mean Ymir?_ She did happen to recall a similar product from back when Lloyd changed for the first time. _Well, a little insurance couldn't hurt!_ She thought, entering the store.

* * *

Sheena and Lydia stepped out of the transporter into the Renegade base. The two had searched both the Gardens and Welgia for the strange woman, but they never came across her. In fact, they never came across _any _members of their group. However, in Welgia, the angels gave them a message that everyone had gone back down to their planet. Instructing the angels to keep an eye out for the woman, Lydia and Sheena decided it would be best to look for her and the rest of the group back on their world.

"Hi Yuan." Lydia said, noticing the Seraph with his back turned to them.

Yuan just sighed angrily. "This is a military base, not Hakonesia Peak. Why do people insist on passing through here so often?"

Sheena shrugged. "...Because you built a transporter to Derris-Kharlan?"

This didn't placate Yuan, however. He turned angrily to the two and said, "That does _not_ give your friends the right to fly through the wall in my personal quarters!"

"...What?" Lydia asked, utterly confused.

* * *

"Leaving so soon, Mr. Bryant? The day isn't over yet."

Regal nodded to his employee. "I realize, George, but I must prepare for tonight."

The man nodded. "Ah yes. I'd almost forgotten." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, here's hoping you enjoy yourself, Mr. President."

Regal stepped onto the Lezareno Corp. elevator. Honestly, he didn't much enjoy these political parties he was often invited to. Still, it would be impolite to refuse and he _was_ looking forward to seeing his all of his former companions again and all in one place.

After taking the tram back to the area of Altamira with the hotel and the shops, Regal made his way to his tailor, passing by a particularly gaudy shop selling the pollen-laced lipstick that Colette had used on him during their journey. Regal shook his head in disgust. Ever since people realized that the item actually worked, the street vendor had made himself very rich almost overnight, getting himself a giant shop in the process. Regal had attempted to use his influence to get such a product banned, but the former street-vendor apparently had friends in high places. It didn't take much pondering to determine _how_ he got them.

The good news was that Regal had been able to at least get a regulation passed that forced them to limit the content of pollen in it. It was still quite potent, but it no longer would result in the dangerous hijinks that had plagued the original users. Regal would have scowled, but by this point he was inside his tailor's shop and instead maintained a polite smile on his face. The president of Lezareno had to keep up appearances, after all.

* * *

Zella giggled with excitement as she exited the shops. Those products hadn't been cheap, but they would be worth it! She stopped, noticing a familiar blue-haired man enter into the very ritzy looking establishment of a tailor and Zella suddenly got an idea. _Hmm... let's just see if_ _Regal can recognize me! _She wanted to make sure she didn't look too similar to her original appearance. After all, she didn't want to risk scaring off Genis, even if it now wasn't that big of a deal with her purchases...

Zella slipped inside and began to stalk her way towards Regal, but as she got close she overheard the Lezareno President conversing with his tailor about a supposed party he had been invited to that evening.

"So, Mr. Bryant. If you don't mind me asking, what's the special occasion?" The tailor questioned as he measured out Regal's arm, which had long since been unshackled.

Regal gave a modest smile. "Well, it's nothing too prestigious. The King is just having a gathering of members of the Tethe'allan and Sylvaranti governments in a sort of peace offering between the two halves of the world. I was fortunate enough to accompany the Regeneration Heroes for a portion of their journey and therefore we were invited as guests of honor."

The tailor was floored by Regal's nonchalant explanation. "If you ask me, sir, that is a very prestigious event. And I heard you were an integral member of the Regeneration."

Regal, however, was eternally modest. "While it's true that I was a member of the group, I was with them for the least amount of time and I was their prisoner for a portion of the time." He smiled slightly. "Still, it is a great honor both to be in such a group and to be invited to the gathering regardless of the circumstances, so I appreciate your compliments."

"Not at all, sir, not at all." The tailor responded politely.

As the tailor and Regal continued chatting, Zella's mind was racing, for once _not _thinking about Genis. _The King's party is tonight?_ Looking back, she did remember being invited a few weeks previously (it was probably difficult to coordinate an inter-world party on such short notice, she figured), but in all of the current chaos she'd completely forgotten about it. It certainly didn't help that it was nigh-impossible to accurately determine time back on Derris-Kharlan. However, upon deeper reflection, she realized that it could be a good thing. _This party is way too important for everyone to miss, which means I won't even need to go looking for Genis: he'll come to me! _She stifled an excited giggle, receiving a confused glance from Regal and his tailor. She noted triumphantly that Regal didn't recognize her, although it had only been a quick look. Either way, this gave her an opportunity to look even sexier for her young prince!

So much for not thinking about the Genis.

* * *

After apologizing for the hole in his wall, Lydia and Sheena asked Yuan where they could find their friends. The half-elf may still have been sore but he eventually yielded and traced both Zella and Colette's mana signatures, determining the Colette was in Meltokio and Zella seemed to be heading there as well. Lydia and Sheena quickly boarded their Rheairds and took to the skies.

* * *

"I'm very sorry, but Master Zelos has not been home at all recently." Sebastian explained formally.

"Well, what about a red-haired girl?" Raine inquired.

Sebastian nodded, receiving excited looks from the rest of the group. "Indeed, there are always many girls coming to visit and looking for Master Zelos." The group's hopes immediately fell. Sebastian, noticing their downtrodden faces, tried to ease everyone's worry. "However, Master Zelos is often out of town for large amounts of time. He should be back here at some point soon, with the King's party being tonight and all."

The entire group, save Kratos, started.

"Wait, that party is tonight?" Genis exclaimed.

Presea quickly offered an explanation. "In the excitement, we must have forgotten about it."

"Do you think we should skip it?" Colette wondered.

Raine shook her head. "Things may be hectic right now, but we can't afford to skip it. The gathering is more than just a party; it will likely determine the diplomatic relationships between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla for years to come. Being the group that united the worlds, we _have_ to show up."

"But only half of us are here." Genis noted. "And what about Lloyd?"

"What about Lloyd?" Lydia said, stepping through the front door.

"The King's party is tonight." Colette explained. "And Lloyd... I mean, you need to show up."

"Well we have a little problem, then." Lydia said, cupping the two lumps on her chest. "_These!_" She was still a little bitter about being transformed back so quickly.

A small trickle of blood slid from Genis' nose and, surprisingly, Sheena's as well, but the two quickly turned away and wiped the blood off of their faces.

Raine shook her head. "That's not good enough. Lloyd was the leader of the group. He _needs _to show up at this party more than anyone."

"So then what do you suggest?" Sheena asked. "It's not like we can explain Lloyd's change..."

"And I don't really _want_ it to be public knowledge, either." Lydia continued.

Raine, however, looked thoughtful. "There is still _one _way Lloyd could show up."

Lydia noticed a strange glint in Raine's eye. "Wait... you don't mean..."

The half-elf nodded. "Yes."

Lydia shook her head furiously. "There is no way I'm doing that!"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Lydia muttered, standing before the entrance to the celebration and shifting uncomfortably in her, or rather, Lloyd's white Nobleman outfit. Even with her hair tied back like it used to be and even with her chest bound, she still felt she looked way too feminine to pretend to be male for the evening. She also felt a little left out that Raine, Sheena, Colette and Presea all got to go get new dresses without her... _Wait a second!_ Lydia mentally slapped herself. Ever since she changed back to Lloyd, albeit temporarily, Lydia started feeling much more uncomfortable with such feminine thoughts. Besides, tonight of all nights she needed to think like a guy. Of course, it also didn't help that they were supposed to bring _dates_ to the party...

"You'll live." Colette responded bitterly. She didn't know why, but her libido had been a lot more powerful lately, so it was very disappointing for her to be paired up with another girl, even if said girl had _once _been Lloyd. However, she was enjoying wearing a dress that wasn't so completely conservative for once.

Sheena glanced over to Lydia and Colette together and felt a knot in her stomach. Sure, she supposed it made more sense for Colette and Lloyd to appear together after all, it seemed to be the universal belief among the public that Colette and Lloyd had feelings for each other. Still, she couldn't help but feel drawn towards Lydia, so she naturally felt pretty jealous of Colette. Sheena wasn't too worried, though. She happened to have a secret weapon in her bag should it come down to that. It may have taken her the better part of the day to hunt down, but it was worth it. The only possible obstacle she could see was being paired up with the amnesiac Kratos...

As for Kratos, he felt completely out of place. He was wearing an old tuxedo that apparently had once belonged to that Zelos person. The fact that he couldn't remember anything would mean that it would be very difficult for him to pull off the role of the sophisticated hero that he apparently was supposed to. He smirked. Still, being paired up with the lovely Sheena was a major plus.

Raine had met up with Regal before the party, and being the two oldest of their genders (save for a 4,000 year old Seraph with a juvenile mentality), it made perfect sense for the two to be paired up. Raine adjusted her dress. Unlike the last fancy party she'd attended, Raine felt an impulse to actually wear a dress like a woman instead of dressing like a professor. In fact, she'd been feeling a lot younger recently. Although the date was merely a formality, she suddenly felt the thought of being with such an older man to be uncomfortable.

Regal, meanwhile, was quite confused with the entire turn of events. Lloyd was Lydia again? Zelos was missing? Kratos had amnesia? He'd thought that the chaos with the Ymir plants had ended months ago...

Presea eyed all of the girls with disdain. She had expected it from Sheena, but every single female in the group had chosen to wear, frankly, very skanky dresses. She glanced over at Genis, who seemed very uncomfortable with the whole situation. The pink-haired girl had flashbacks to her dream where Genis was seduced away from her and couldn't help but imagine a similar event happening for real. _What could have possibly possessed them _all _to dress like that?_ She knew that there was no way her exsphere-decelerated body could compete with women like Sheena, or even Colette. At least that minx Zella was nowhere to be found...

Genis blushed, catching himself admiring Sheena in her purple dress with a slit for her bare leg and Colette in a knee-length pink dress that must have had a push-up bra underneath. Why did these girls all seem to be taunting him? Sure, he couldn't help but enjoy the view, but things were starting to get a bit ridiculous. At least none of the others were as forward as Zella, but still, whenever he tried to talk to either of the girls while dressed like that he would just end up stuttering like a madman.

And what of Zella?

The group had been unable to find the gender-bent chosen before it came time to go to the party, but they hoped that she would remember the party and have the sense to show up. Luckily, she looked enough like Zelos already so if she showed up she would likely pass for him anyways.

The group took a collective deep breath for varying reasons and entered the building.

* * *

Well, I wrote this chapter and am posting it on pain meds after getting surgery (don't worry, nothing major), so hopefully it was up to the quality of the other chapters. I must say, I had a lot of fun writing this one and I am very glad they finally got back to Aselia. It gave me a lot more freedom that the Gardens just didn't offer. Plus, I actually enjoyed throwing Regal into the fray. Personally, I blame the fact that he has such a major role in Dawn of the New World.

As for this chapter, I hope you don't mind that little recap at the end, but I felt it was necessary after so long of a gap and I frankly felt that it was a good place at the end. I mean, what _did _happen to Zella? What is Sheena planning? And what hijinks will ensue with this new setup? Also, _why _did Lloyd change back to Lydia so quickly? In case you've all forgotten in the long wait, I have a plan, but I welcome any suggestions and ideas.

Also, with this chapter, Gender Bending 2 has officially overtaken the original in word count! That may not seem like a really big deal, but I felt it was a milestone worth mentioning.

Oh, one last thing: I recently joined a collaborative writing group in the Symphonia section called Sno Phoenix (note the misspelling) with well known writer's such as Baby Kat Snowflake and Twilight Scribe. Sno Phoenix just recently posted the first chapter of our multidimensional epic From Here to Eternity, and although I was unable to participate in the writing of the first chapter due to school, but I still think it's gonna turn out really well! Check it out!

Lastly, before this author's note gets _way_ too long, please, please review! Next chapter may actually be soon for once!

* * *


	13. Party Antics: Part 1

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

HA! They said it was impossible! They called me crazy, but I did it! Two chapters without months between them! This is blasphemy! THIS IS MADNESS!

Chapter 13

"Ah! And here they are!" The King of Tethe'alla proclaimed dramatically, forgetting his conversation with Neil of Palmacosta and striding towards the guests of honor who had barely entered the dance hall.

"Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty." Regal responded, bowing to the king and motioning the rest of the group to do the same. Lydia resisted the urge to curtsy like the rest of the girls and bowed alongside Genis and Kratos.

"Oh, there's no need to observe formalities like that! Not for heroes like you." The King declared boisterously grabbing Lydia's hand in a powerful handshake.

"Th-thank you, Your Highness." Lydia said, trying to ignore the King's crushing grip on her hand. The King raised his eyebrow at her feminine voice and Lydia quickly coughed and repeated in a very falsely gruff tone. "I-I mean, thank you, Your Highness."

"Are you all right, my boy?" The King asked, releasing his grip.

"I'm fine." Lydia said in her gruff voice. "I-I just have a cold. Yeah. That's it."

The King seemed satisfied. "Ah. I see." He eyed the heroes and quickly noted Zelos' absence. "Where is the Chosen?"

Lydia panicked. "Well, um, I mean...

Luckily, Raine was prepared. "He has been very sick for these past few days, and is visiting a very talented healer we met in our travels. If he recovers sufficiently in time, he said he'd join us. In his place, we brought Kratos Aurion." She gestured at Kratos, who, in an attempt to appear sophisticated, was trying to position his long hair out of his face and was failing miserably. "He...he was another valuable member of our group, but had to leave on a... journey after we regenerated the world."

The King was obviously disappointed at having one of the Regeneration Heroes missing, but he smiled and, crushing Lydia's hand one more time, said "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure you wish to mingle with the guests and maybe dance a little with the lovely Chosen." He eyed Lydia and Colette knowingly who affirmed his suspicions by acting completely uncomfortable. He, of course, had no idea of the true emotions behind their discomfort.

The group, eager to escape the scrutiny of the King, quickly set about mingling. This, however, proved to be a problem. Despite the King's best intentions, the idea of a party to break the ice between the nations was a flawed one. The Tethe'allan aristocracy was far too pompous for the Regeneration Heroes, save Regal and Raine, or the Sylvarantis to truly have substantial conversations with. And Sylvarant, not having a centralized government, had simply sent every town mayor to the gathering. To their credit, they attempted to appear sophisticated, but coming from the declining world made it impossible for any of them to truly relate to the spoiled Tethe'allan elite.

The Regeneration Heroes, uncomfortable in both groups, mostly stayed in their own little clique save for the occasional outside conversation.

"I think they want us to dance." Lydia whispered to Colette, noticing how most of the party goers were observing them from the corners of their eyes.

"Do we have to?" Colette asked.

Lydia was too uncomfortable with the situation to really notice Colette's odd behavior and simply responded with, "Look, let's just get this over with and dance for a little while. Maybe then they'll stop watching us so much."

"I guess you're right." The blond Chosen responded, allowing Lydia to take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor. There they encountered another problem: they were completely uneducated in the formal Tethe'allan dancing. The two quickly adapted an Iselian square-dance to match the tune, but Lydia's balance was utterly shot in trying to perform the male half of the dance. She desperately hoped that their antics looked lovably foolish instead of embarrassingly bad.

* * *

As the two would-be lovebirds attempted to avoid as much embarrassment as possible, Sheena was having a hell of a time keeping control of Kratos.

"So, uh... cool party, huh? Uh... I mean, verily, ergo, this is a highly marvelous party, am I right?" Kratos stated, attempting to converse with a Tethe'allan noble who muttered something in response. Kratos, in turn, grabbed a glass of wine off of the platter of a passing butler and took a very unceremonious swig.

"Come on, Kratos. Leave to poor nobles alone." Sheena said, taking him by the hand and leading him away.

"Sylvaranti, is he?" She heard the nobles joke amongst themselves and she rolled her eyes. This was not one of the King's best ideas.

"Hey, beautiful. Would you like to dance?" Kratos asked Sheena, who practically yelped in surprise, noticing that Kratos was only on his second glass of wine and acting _way _too tipsy.

"M-maybe later..." She responded, glancing at Lydia and Colette on the dance floor and, most appropriately, blaming her fate.

* * *

Genis and Presea, meanwhile, had found their way to two chairs and were sitting in completely silence, blushing brightly.

"S-so... um... Presea..." Genis began. Although he was surrounded by beautiful women, the fact remained that his heart still belonged to Presea, as cheesy as it sounded. "Would you like to... um... I mean..."

"Dance?" Presea asked, jumping for joy in her mind, but keeping her relatively emotionless mask.

"I-I mean, if you want to..." Genis said, frightened by her lack of an emotional response and began to curse himself for being so stupid. "B-but if you don't, I mean, I understan-"

"I'd love to." Presea said, smiling at the half-elf.

"Oh..." Genis said, crushed. Suddenly, it occurred to him what Presea had actually said, and he jumped to his feet. "O-OH! Well then, let's go!" He grabbed her hand excitedly and almost sprinted to the dance floor. Despite being in love with Presea, he at least didn't find her physically intimidating like the other girls, even though she could wield an intensely heavy battle-ax.

* * *

Back on the dance floor, Lydia and Colette's square-dance had proven much more popular than anticipated, resulting in many Sylvaranti performing their own variants and many of the Tethe'allan nobles attempting it, with hilarious results. Colette and Lydia, however, didn't notice. At this time, they were absorbed in the dance.

Magical flowers aside, as they danced they both flashed back to a simpler time, back to when they were children, attending the festivals in Iselia. Soon, they neared the end of the routine, they sweated as their entire bodies were close together and they jumped to the upbeat tempo. The pair was too enthralled in the dance to notice the chaos caused by the failure of the nobles around them. The pair was too enthralled to notice one particular noble lose his balance and knock into Lydia, pushing her into an unintentional kiss with Colette.

The two immediately stopped dancing and could only stare at each other in shock. Once the guests, Sylvaranti or Tethe'allan noticed as well, they too stopped dancing and cheered for the apparent couple. Sheena, too, noticed the cheering and could only glare at the two.

"Excuse me, Kratos." Sheena said to the Seraph who was now on his fourth glass of wine. "I need to freshen up." With that she stormed off.

"Take as long as you need, Doll." Kratos said, slurring his words excessively.

When Lydia and Colette finally broke apart, Lydia felt blood rush to her face. However, this seemed more than embarrassment. She felt her entire body go warm and she had tunnel vision. "E-excuse me for a second..." She said, stumbling off of the dance floor. The onlookers clearly interpreted it as embarrassment and chuckled (seemingly) knowingly.

Lydia made it to the washrooms (only remembering just in time to go to the _men's_ ones) but then couldn't stand up anymore. She fell to the ground in the empty room and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Yuan? What are you doing here?" Raine asked, noticing the blue-haired Seraph. For once he wasn't wearing his armor and cape, but instead a formal looking black shirt with long coattails. Honestly it made him look _more_ mysterious.

Yuan scowled. "Why do you think? There was no way the Chosen was going to get in here without a date, not looking like that."

"Colette?" Regal questioned.

"Of course not. The other one." Yuan explained.

"Zella is here?" Raine practically yelled. "Wait... _date_?"

"Correct." Yuan muttered. "There was no way he... she would pass as Zelos Wilder the way she's dressed, so she insisted I bring her so she could get in."

Raine supposed that made sense. After all, Yuan had to be famous in Tethe'alla, being the one who informed everyone of the two worlds. Still, now was not the time for that. They needed to find Zella quickly and-

_Crash!_

Raine, Yuan and Regal turned to see Kratos, who had apparently stripped off his shirt, standing on a table and dancing like a fool."

"Oh no..." Yuan said, uncharacteristically worried. "Did he drink _alcohol_?"

"I... I don't know!" Raine answered. "Sheena was supposed to be watching him!"

"I would assume that he did." Regal responded to Yuan. "But there's no way he drank enough to get _that _drunk already..."

"You'd be surprised." Yuan said, making his way through the crowd and towards Kratos. This could very well screw up diplomatic relationships for decades to come. "Kratos could never drink much, even during the Kharlan War. Plus, there is a side effect to Cruxis Crystals."

Raine was instantly in Ruin Mode. "Side effect?"

Yuan nodded, oblivious of the danger of baiting Raine in her current state. "Indeed. Becoming an angel may enhance many attributes, but in doing so the user becomes unable to hold their liquor."

"So all angels get drunk unnaturally easily?" Regal summarized.

"Yes." Yuan said. "Goddess... I haven't seen Kratos this bad since that time 2,000 years ago when Mithos accidentally gave us wine instead of grape juice at one of his parties..."

"Mithos had parties?" Regal asked.

"Occasionally." Yuan said. "Trust me, you do _not_ want to see Yggdrasil drunk, especially if he's in his younger form." By then, they'd reached Kratos. "Kratos! Get down from there!"

"Why don't you make me, bluey?" Kratos taunted down.

_"Bluey_?!" Yuan asked, raising an eyebrow That was a new one. He jumped up on the table as well, ready to subdue the Seraph by force if necessary.

Kratos, however, had a change of heart. "We shouldn't be fighting." He paused, and attempted to give a flirtatious smile to Yuan. "You know, you are a very beautiful young woman." He said, spilling wine everywhere as he swayed back and forth.

This, of course, incensed Yuan even more. It probably did help that not too long ago he actually _was_ a beautiful young woman. "That's it, Kratos. I'm taking you down, you drunk!"

* * *

Sheena dug through her bag, eventually producing a golden tube of lipstick. Sure, the tube was battered, but there was plenty of the actual lipstick left, considering it had only been used a few times. She quickly applied it and smirked. It may have taken her hours to finally locate the old thing completely forgotten at the bottom of Colette's rucksack, but it had been worth it. She smirked, admiring her bright red lips. Enough was enough. It was time to assert herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the drunken commotion was occurring on one side of the hall, many of the dancers on the other side remained unaware due to the volume of the music. Genis and Presea were among this group, attempting to dance, but doing so very awkwardly.

"Mind if I cut in?" Asked a young woman who rudely shoved Presea aside and grabbed on to Genis. This woman was much taller than the half-elf, leaving Genis' face almost directly in her exposed cleavage. Thoroughly embarrassed, Genis was able to crane his neck to get a better look at this mysterious dancer. She had red hair, but it was pulled tightly into a bun. The woman was also wearing red lipstick and the most inappropriate black dress he'd ever seen. It was strapless and exposed the majority of the woman's ample chest. It also left a huge hole in the torso, revealing her naval and a lot of other skin, save for two thin strips of black going down her side and ending in what could only be described as an attached miniskirt. To top it all off, she was wearing long black boots and gloves. If had been able to think straight, Genis would have questioned how she got in wearing something that looked like it belonged in the bedroom.

As Presea saw Genis blush, being pulled up against this woman, she flushed furiously. She didn't recognize her at first, but was able to quickly determine the remarkably forward red-head's identity was that of Zella. She angrily pushed Zella away and, resuming her dance with Genis responded, "Actually, I _do _mind."

"Well isn't that cute." Zella said mockingly, sliding in between the two and grabbing Genis tightly around his back. The half-elf flushed, completely confused and wondering who to side with.

The duel over Genis continued for the rest of the song, who was buffeted between his true love and the attractive older woman like a kite in a windstorm. Immediately after the song ended and before the band could start a new song, Genis scurried away to the only safe place: the men's washroom.

"Genis!" Presea and Zella called after him but the half-elf could not be deterred.

With Genis gone, the two rivals glared at each other. Zella had obviously had enough. "Can we talk for a bit _in private_?" She growled at Presea.

"I'd love to." Presea glowered back as the two made their way to the women's washroom, passing by a smirking Sheena with bright red lips. Presea was too infuriated at Zella to heed any of Raine's warnings about odd behavior being caused by pollen, so she simply focused on ways to tell Zella that Genis was hers. If it came down to a fight, she didn't know if she could win. Sure, she was incredibly strong for her size, but Zella had magic... Presea was worried but didn't falter. There was no way she'd show weakness to _Zella_, a gender-bent pervert of all people.

* * *

_"Lydia!"_

Lydia groaned, hearing the distant voice.

_"LYDIA!"_

"Leave me alone, I'm tired..." Lydia responded, but could already feel herself waking up...

"L-LLOYD!"

Lydia's eyes shot open and she sat up with a start. She quickly noticed Genis sitting next to her with a worried look. "Ugh... what happened?" She groaned and noticed a gasp from Genis.

"L-Lydia... I mean Lloyd... I mean..." Genis gave up with the naming. "Y-your voice...!"

"What about... it...?" Lydia responded, noticing that it had a deeper tone all of a sudden. "No way!" She shouted excitedly, noticing a lack of a pressure on her, or rather, his chest.

Lloyd jumped to his feet with a huge grin on his face, unable to believe what was happening. "I-I don't get it! I'm back to normal? How?"

"That's what I was wondering!" Genis said excitedly, happy that things wouldn't have to be awkward around his best friend anymore. "What could have changed you back?"

"I dunno!" Lloyd yelled ecstatically. "I was Lloyd earlier, and when I kissed Sheena I turned back into Lydia, but when I kissed Colette..." He trailed off. He may not have been the smartest in the party, but he could still draw conclusions. "Wait a second... "

Genis was making a similar connection. "You don't mean...?"

"Kissing?" The two said, reaching the same conclusion.

* * *

As soon as Zella and Presea were in private, the ex-Chosen made the first move. She roughly pushed Presea into a wall and snarled "Listen here, you little bitch, Genis is _mine, _got it? Now hands off!"

"Yours?" Presea questioned, knocking Zella away and throwing her down with her supreme strength. "Since when have _you _given a damn about him? You're not even his age, you _pervert!_"

Zella jumped to her feet and picked Presea up by the neck and held her against the wall. With her angelic strength she had a clear advantage. "Fine then, if you won't listen to my warnings..." She pulled a knife from a holster on her leg.

That got Presea's attention. Sure, she had been angry at Zella, but she'd never intended to actually _hurt_ her too badly. After all, they were a team not too long ago. She suddenly remembered Kratos' warning about the plants back when they entered the Gardens.

_"The ones in the Ymir Forest, while annoying in their effects, never endangered anyone's life or sanity."_

Presea gulped and struggled to get free. Raine had been right and she was too blinded by rage to see it! Zella was affected by a plant from the Gardens which gave her an emotional need to have Genis all to herself. It wasn't love at all; Genis was like an object, a trophy for her... A trophy she'd do anything to get. _Even kill._ Presea gulped again as the truth dawned on her: Zella had truly gone insane.

* * *

Well, this chapter isn't quite as long as some of the others and I _did_ want to include more, but I felt like this was a good place to end it. This chapter had some humor, but also a terrifying revelation that I've been planning since chapter 7. The question is: will Presea be able to do anything about it?

Please review, and I hope that wasn't too intense for ya! Remember, this is still a comedy... for the most part, at least.

Oh, and special thanks to freakyanimegal for suggesting that Kratos get drunk!


	14. Party Antics: Part 2

Gender Bending 2: Zella

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Warning! This chapter will contain small references to Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, but I left them intentionally vague so as to avoid spoiling it for those of you who haven't played it yet and still want to (shame on you!).

Chapter 14

"W-wait a second, Zella." Presea struggled out. She needed to get Zella to listen to reason. It was a good thing that she was so accustomed to appealing to logic, but she still had no idea if Zella would even be willing to listen. "I-I think that you're... infected by a plant from the Gardens..."

Zella just laughed and then smirked at Presea. Honestly, with that red lipstick on she looked positively vampiric. "Do you think I care about something like that?" She twirled the knife in her hand, making sure to keep Presea in a position where she couldn't move. "Even _if _that's true, it doesn't make a bit of difference to me. Now, it's time to stop your meddling... _permanently._"

If Presea hadn't been in mortal peril, she would have groaned. She was lacking in life experience, having spent countless years as a living doll, but even she knew a clichéd line when she heard it. Of course, having a knife pointed at you will make you focus on more important things. Presea gulped. Pursuing the "you have been infected" train of thought had failed, but really when did telling someone that e_ver _work? There was still another path she could take that would still be appealing to reason... "N-now don't do anything hasty..." Presea said, choosing her words very carefully and trying not to appear to be patronizing. "If you kill me here, you'll be found out for sure."

Zella pretended not to be listening and fiddled impatiently with the knife, but the fact that she hadn't stabbed Presea yet meant that it still had some significance to her warped mind.

Presea continued. "We're at a large party. Surely someone would find my body." Presea was dragging her point out as long as possible. If only someone had to use the facilities, she might be saved. "And if not, one of our group would notice I'm missing sooner or later." Zella seemed to be getting impatient, so Presea decided to hook her there. "Surely a killing _or _a disappearance would mess up your plans with Genis."

Zella immediately gave Presea her undivided attention "I suppose you are right, of course... but then I wonder what I should do with you..."

"You could let me go..." Presea suggested hopefully. "I'll leave you two alone! I promise!" Of course, she was lying. All she needed to do was inform Raine of Zella's situation and then maybe they could do something about it.

Zella laughed again, squeezing Presea's neck with her hand. "Do you expect me to believe that? You're not gettin' off that easy."

"Well then.... what are you...going.... to do?" Presea choked. "You can't kill me, and you won't let me go. What other options are there?"

The gender-bent ex-Chosen smirked evilly, her bright red lips glistening. "Oh, there is _one _other way to keep you quiet."

"And what is tha-mmmmph?!" Presea began, but was interrupted by Zella firmly planting their lips together. It was only a quick peck, but after the kiss Zella released Presea. The young lady slid down the wall and ended up sitting on the ground with a look of complete shock and confusion, Zella's lipstick leaving a mark on Presea's.

"Now let's keep this matter to ourselves, kay?" Zella asked suddenly very sweetly as she began to exit the washroom.

"...okay... I guess...." Presea mumbled with a glazed look in her eyes as she brought her fingers up to gingerly touch her lips.

Zella smirked as she left the room with Presea still sitting on the floor. The clerk at the store noted that the effects would only be temporary this time and that they would be more subdued, but her pollen-infused lipstick would still be able to turn its victims into babbling, lovesick fools. In most ways, she preferred this: Zella just needed to silence Presea and was glad she wouldn't become obsessive and resort to methods that Sheena did when _she _was under its control. It might make courting Genis a little more difficult, but with Presea in a completely embarrassed and confused state, her major obstacle was still gone. Besides, she'd also purchased a special perfume from the same store that should make Genis more accepting of her advances, as well as keep Presea docile. Guaranteed to make her appear even _more_ attractive to anyone close enough to catch a whiff, she was confident that seducing Genis would now be a cakewalk.

* * *

Lloyd marched happily back into the party, followed by a still slightly-wary Genis. Lloyd smiled but was still lost in thought. Sure, he felt a little odd with the constant switching back and forth, but at least he knew the cause. If he could just avoid kissing anyone, he could remain as himself forever. Still, he hoped that they'd be able to find a more permanent cure. First things first, though; he needed to find Raine and explain the situation.

"Lloyd!" Sheena shouted happily approaching. If Lloyd hadn't been so preoccupied and if Genis hadn't been so embarrassed they might have noticed how red her lips suddenly were. Sheena smirked. A quick kiss on the lips and Lydia would be hers... She stopped for a second, remembering the experience in Altamira a while back. Was she really willing to go to such desperate lengths to ensure being with her beloved?

_Yes._ She concluded. One quick kiss and then everything would be perfect. It wouldn't even look too odd, either. Lydia was clearly disguised as Lloyd. _And very well, too._ She thought, noting how much Lydia really looked like Lloyd at that moment.

"Sheena!" Lloyd responded happily. "You'll never guess what happened!"

"And what's that?" Sheena asked, staring and Lloyd through half-lidded eyes and moving in.

"I'm Lloyd again!" Lloyd said so full of bliss that he didn't notice Sheena's odd behavior or the odd glances he got from a few of the closer guests.

"_What_?" Sheena gasped back as her entire plan shattered.

"_I know!_ Isn't it great?!" Lloyd asked, grinning. "Well, I need to go find Professor Sage." He said, starting to run off, stumbling due to the balance change, and then running off again.

Genis and Sheena stood there in silence for a short time, until Genis finally was able to form the words to lamely attempt to begin a conversation. "...So... what's up?"

"Oh shut up..." Sheena muttered.

* * *

"Unhand me, fool! I'm king of angel land!" Kratos shouted drunkenly as Yuan held the amnesiac Seraph over his shoulder and made his way out of the large group that had formed.

"Excuse me. Sorry about this. Excuse me." Yuan said embarrassedly as he tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"Yuan!" Lloyd shouted, drawn over by the commotion. "What's going on with my Dad?" He asked worriedly. After all, it could be another one of those pesky plants...

"He's just a little drunk." Yuan grunted, trying to hold the struggling Kratos and walking quickly towards the exit. "Great disguise, by the way." He muttered to the Eternal Swordsman as he slipped past.

Lloyd decided that Yuan was too preoccupied to be dealt a shocker at that moment, so he just played along. "Oh, thanks."

After Yuan left, Lloyd found Raine and Regal, who had both been nearby, and giddily explained his new situation. True, he wasn't cured, but this was better than nothing.

"Kissing, huh?" Raine asked. "I wonder why _that _action facilitates the change... I may have to test this later..." She stopped talking as soon as she realized what she was implying.

"Okay, sure!" Lloyd said, already back to his usual oblivious self. "As long as you change me back to Lloyd at the end, though."

Raine blushed and gave a sigh of relief, although not really knowing why. _That was strange._ She thought, looking up at Lloyd... _Wait a minute..._ She'd always been about the same height as her student, but all of a sudden the top of her head was only about as high as Lloyd's nose... "Have you gotten taller?"

* * *

"Hima, huh?" Richter Abend muttered, flipping his long red hair out of his face as he read the sign at the entrance of said town. After the merging of the worlds, the geography of both planets had been skewed, resulting in the discovery of villages such as this. Unless he asked the citizens, he'd have no way of determining if it had come from the other world or if he'd simply not heard of it. It was times like this when he wished his usual traveling companion with him, but they'd had to attend to other matters in Asgard. Shaking himself out of his musings, Richter observed that there seemed to be some sort of commotion going on in the center of town, noting a man with dark hair, pointy ears and brightly colored spectacles who was wearing a strange cape-like object surrounding his whole body. The man... or rather, the half-elf, Richter determined, was making a proclamation of some sort in a voice that sounded annoyingly nasally even from his distance.

* * *

Zella grinned, spotting Genis near the dance floor talking to Sheena. She was a little miffed seeing her prize fraternizing with another woman, but it made no difference in the long run. A quick kiss was all that was necessary, she knew, and began making her way to the half-elf.

"...Zella?" Came a familiar voice. It was Lydia, or Lloyd, or whatever she was calling herself now. She was unimportant, just white noise to Zella though, who didn't take her eyes off of her target. That is, until the Eternal Swordsman purposely stepped into her line of sight.

"Not now, Lydia. I'm busy." Zella muttered irritably.

"I _thought_ it was you!" The hero said happily, still refusing to let Zella by. "Actually, though, it's just Lloyd now." He said quietly so only she could hear. "I'm _cured_!" He paused. "Well, sort of."

"Great." Zella said, completely uninterested as she walked past, and was peeved to see that Genis had vanished into the crowd. She quickly set off at a brisk walk to search for him.

_That was weird. _Lloyd thought. He was certain Zella would be ecstatic about being able to change back, even if only for a short while. Unless... unless she was _liking_ the change as Lloyd once had. Lloyd had to admit, she did make a really attractive girl. True, she may have been wearing something that even _he_ knew was inappropriate for such an occasion, but Zelos had always acted like that anyways, right?

Although he hated to admit it, Lloyd's thoughts of Zella briefly turned to daydreams just in time for him to run straight into another guest.

"Oh, please excuse me." The guest, a man wearing dark purple clothes, said.

"No, it was completely my..." Lloyd stopped dead when he saw the man's face. "Kratos?" How did he get back in so quickly? How did he get so sober all of a sudden? And _how in the hell_ did he change out of that tuxedo so fast?

The man tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry. I don't think we've met. You are...?"

"...Lloyd." Lloyd said apprehensively. There was something off about Kratos. He wasn't acting like the goof he had been while under the amnesia flower. No... if anything, he was acting like he did when Lloyd first met him; formal and secretive. He was even _wearing_ the clothes he'd had at their first meeting. Something was definitely up.

Kratos looked at the handle of the red sword in one of Lloyd's holsters. "Excuse me," He said again. "May I see that sword?"

Lloyd pulled the sword from it's sheath, displaying Flamberg to the amnesiac man. "You mean this?"

"Flamberg..." Kratos muttered so quietly that an ordinary human couldn't hear it. However, to one with angelic hearing...

"And how do you know that?" Lloyd questioned with a fake smile. Sure, it could be that Kratos' memory was starting to return, but for some reason that Lloyd couldn't quite place, the man just seemed suspicious all of a sudden.

This seemed to surprise Kratos. "How did you hear that? You're not an angel-"

"Answer the question." Lloyd said, dropping all pretenses of being friendly. He didn't know what this impostor was up to, but it clearly wasn't the same Kratos that had been traveling with them. At this point in time, Kratos should have had no idea about angelic hearing.

The Seraph, or whatever the hell the man was, put his hand on the hilt of the steel sword at his waist threateningly. "Or you can tell me what you're doing with _my_ sword, and what the nature is behind that odd mana signature of yours."

Lloyd just glared defiantly at the man. He now knew for certain that this impostor was not his father. He knew too much about mana and Flamberg to have amnesia, but he was more blunt and reckless than the regular Kratos had ever been before. Not to mention, the complete changing of his clothes in such a short amount of time was impossible. If he wasn't in the process of staring the man down, Lloyd would have smiled. That was a pretty smart train of thought he'd been on. Too bad Professor Sage hadn't been around to see it.

And this Kratos definitely _was _more reckless. Faster than the ordinary human eye could follow, he drew his sword and swung it threateningly at Lloyd's neck.

Lloyd reacted out of sheer reflex, using his angelic speed and the already drawn Flamberg to parry the strike. All nearby guests gasped at the sudden display of weapons and stepped away. Lloyd, however, didn't notice this. He was back on the Tower of Salvation, and this yet another battle against the mysterious Kratos the Angel, as opposed to Kratos, his father. He didn't notice the circle already forming around them made out of curious onlookers. All that mattered was this fight. Lloyd didn't know who this man was, but if he was as strong as Kratos, this would be tough, especially after his balance changing for the third time in less than a day. "Bring it on, Kratos, if that's even your real name!"

* * *

"Darn it!" Marta Lualdi coughed, falling onto one knee. This just wasn't possible! _He _had died a year ago! Governor-General Neil said the Chosen's group had done it... She grimaced angrily. Had the Chosen failed Palmacosta yet again?

"Pathetic vermin." Desian Grand Cardinal Magnius smirked down at the young girl, bringing he staff forward to cast another spell.

* * *

Genis gulped, weaving through a crowd or party goers. There seemed to be something going on on the far end of the hall, but as he was standing in a group of people that were all taller than him, there was no way for him to see it. For once, he was glad he was still relatively short. He didn't know what Zella wanted with him, and although a part of him enjoyed the attention he was getting from such an attractive older woman, for the most part, she just made him _really _nervous. And now that Lloyd had run off, stranding him with Sheena and, as he had observed, in the sights of Zella, he was seriously considering going back to the men's room to hide...

"Genis." Presea said, appearing almost out of nowhere. Genis jumped a bit, but quickly settled down when he saw who it was. Although he was still occasionally nervous around her, the situation with Zella made these nerves feel almost nonexistent. If anything, this awkward situation was starting to draw Presea and himself closer together.

"H-Hi, Presea." Genis said quietly. "Look, I'm hiding from Zella, okay? So stay quiet."

Presea's brow furrowed. She still had her feelings for Genis, but now they were smothered by an invasive new set of thoughts. "Why?" Zella was fun, and smart, and pretty...

"Why?" Genis repeated incredulously, interrupting Presea's thoughts. He hadn't expected _that _response. "You were there when she danced with me, remember?!"

The confused girl still didn't see the problem. "And?" She felt a nagging thought in the back of her mind, telling her to warn Genis about the sanity of Ze... _Zella_. Her mind completely shifted gears at the name. That was right... Zella wanted Genis for herself, didn't she? Presea felt a small twinge of jealousy (although for which party, even she wasn't sure), but she relented, realizing that Zella's happiness was the most important thing. If Zella wanted Genis, what position was Presea in to deny her?

Saying nothing else, pink hair girl bolted from Genis, leaving the confused half-elf alone. She had to tell Zella where Genis was!

* * *

Sheena wandered towards the exit to the dance hall in a daze. Lydia was gone? But everything was going according to plan! It just wasn't _fair_! _W-Why do I even care so much?_ Sheena wondered in a moment of insight. For the longest time, she'd had a crush on Lloyd and even though the swordsman was too oblivious to recognize her hints, her feelings had remained. So _why_ had they suddenly changed? She'd never even found other women attractive, save for the chaos back in Altamira months ago with the magic lipstick... She stopped right in front of the open archway, realizing the implications of what she was thinking. _Wait a second..._

At that exact moment, Yuan burst back into the room, running smack-dab into Sheena. The two stumbled, landing on the ground with Yuan on top of her and their faces dangerously close. They were both significantly embarrassed, but Sheena's heart caught in her mouth when she realized that she was wearing the magic lipstick from Altamira. They were so lucky. If they had kissed-

Sheena didn't believe in fate, or destiny, or really any god or goddess. She still said phrases like "Thank Martel" out of habit, but she no longer believed in a higher power, not after all they'd seen on their journey. However, if there _was_ a goddess, she clearly enjoyed spreading chaos as, at that exact moment, another party guest tried to enter through the same door as Yuan, not noticing the two on the floor. He stumbled, bumping into Yuan and pushing the Seraph's face into Sheena's, mashing their lips together.

* * *

Raine sighed worriedly. This party was meant to promote peace between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, but with all of the chaos going on, they'd be lucky if this whole thing ended without a full-scale war.

* * *

Well, unfortunately, this chapter wasn't all that funny, but I've been trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends from waaaaaay earlier in this fanfic so I can return to a feel similar to that of the original story without all of the ridiculous lesbian sexploits. Speaking of which, there's a new poll on my profile pertaining to if you actually think that is the best direction for this. I'd appreciate it if you took the time to vote so I know what you guys and gals want. As for this chapter, its primary purpose was to move some of the subplots towards closure.

And speaking of subplots, a few select characters from ToS:DotNW will be making appearances in sort of "expanded cameos" to resolve some of my aforementioned loose ends. After that, they'll be out of the story, so if you don't like them, you can pretend it never happened! =D And don't worry about spoilers. They will likely remain vague at worst, but if I do end up including any beyond that, they will include a warning beforehand.

Additionally, dumbing down my language when from Lloyd's perspective is quite difficult, which I never really realized since I've always written "him" as Lydia, who seems to be the more aware of the two.

In other news, LunaLocket, the author of the AU Gender Bending sequel "From Hero to Heroine" has returned after an extended hiatus due to computer troubles and has resumed posting chapters. Also, her writing has improved leaps and bounds during her time off, and, personally, I was really impressed by shift in her style starting in chapter 5. So if you need some Gender Bending goodness while you wait for me to get my lazy butt in gear and post a new chapter, you should check it out!

...Now all we need is The Amazing Chris back and all three sequels will have been revived...

I mean, please review and vote on the poll!

Oh, and I almost forgot; 100 REVIEWS! WOOO!


	15. History Repeats Itself

Gender Bending 2

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey everyone, welcome back. That was some hiatus, huh? Okay, okay, don't attack me just yet. I've got some announcements at the end of the chapter you should take a look at when you're finished.

Chapter 15

Partygoers screamed and ran as Lloyd and the Kratos wannabe continued their duel. Lloyd barely noticed, completely embroiled in the fight. As he blocked another strike with Flamberg and saw the sparks fly, he flashed back to their previous battles. This Kratos certainly had a similar fighting style, but Lloyd still found it slightly more reckless and unrefined. That said, the man clearly knew what he was doing, and with Lloyd's balance issues recently, he was in for a tough fight.

As their duel continued, the guests who didn't flee formed a (very) large semicircle around the two, viewing the fight in a sort of paralyzed awe. They were right to be shocked, as Lloyd and the man fought absolutely flawlessly, striking and parrying expertly.

"Super Sonic Thrust!" Lloyd shouted, thrusting Flamberg forward.

"Guardian!" 'Kratos' countered, creating a circular barrier around himself, and then jumping back. "You certainly know how to fight," He began, as a red magic circle appeared on the ground at his feet. "however, I am still at another level than you. If you just answer my questions, I'll let you live."

"Oh shut up, old man!" Lloyd countered, having reverted back the way he was back when Kratos was his foe. He didn't know who this man was, but his hatred for 'Kratos the Angel' had resurfaced at the appearance of this antagonistic version of his father.

"Take this! Explosion!" Kratos shouted, as a large fire blast fell from the ceiling.

"W-what?" Lloyd shouted. There were innocent people here! If any of them got caught in the explosion... He turned his attention from Kratos and shifted his perspective towards the partygoers. However, before he could warn them to leave, he heard another voice yell, "Aqua Laser!"

Lloyd once again wheeled around and saw Genis, wielding his kendama and firing an aquatic beam which diverted the majority of the blast. Unfortunately, it also blew a large hole in the ceiling of the dance hall. Even less fortunately, the distraction gave the Kratos impostor an opportunity to attack. However, before he could land a strike, he received a quick kick to his chest by Regal. One by one, Lloyd's team members began to congregate on the scene. Even with their wackiness, it shouldn't be hard for them to defeat the fake.

"Kratos, what are you _doing_?" Raine shouted in her teacher voice. "I thought I told you to not make a scene!"

"Professor Sage, this isn't the real Kratos!" Lloyd shouted back.

'Just what are you inferior beings babbling on about?" Kratos yelled as well. "And you think you can defeat me with mere numbers?" Kratos began a familiar chant as a white aura surrounded him. "Sacred powers, cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls..."

Lloyd's eyes widened with shock. He didn't even have time to question how this impostor knew angelic spells "You can't do that! There are civilians here!" However, it didn't look like Kratos was going to stop. Lloyd needed to draw him away before he could finish the incantation. _Hmm... if this Kratos can use angel spells, then maybe..._ "Hey Kratos, you don't like numbers? Then follow me!" In an instant, his multicolored spectral wings appeared from his back. Lloyd took to the air, and flew out the gap in the ceiling and into the night.

That got the other Kratos' attention. "Those wings...!" His own blue set of wings appeared from his back, and he took off after Lloyd, leaving both the heroes and the partygoers dumbfounded.

"What did I miss?" The tuxedo-ed, and still tipsy Kratos asked, stumbling into the hall.

* * *

After a few near-misses against his opponent, Lloyd quickly realized that aerial combat was certainly _not_ his specialty. He grimaced as he barely dodged an attack by the other man and received a large gash through the front of his Nobleman clothes. "Hey! This was custom made!"

The other Kratos smirked. "Heh. You sound like a woman."

_"What was that?" _Lloyd yelled, dive-bombing the man, who expertly dodged. _Argh! __Who the hell is this guy? He's got all of Kratos' moves, and even his wings!_ Lloyd knew at this rate, he didn't have a chance, so he flew back towards the dance hall and landed on the roof, making his wings vanish in the process.

'Kratos' did the same, landing on the other side of the putting his wings away as well. "You don't seem to know how to use those wings properly, boy." Kratos said as the two moved closer and began to circle each other. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine!" Lloyd spat back.

'Kratos' grit his teeth at the boy's impudence. "You seem to already know my name, but for an angel, you seem to know little else."

"What was that?" Lloyd growled back.

The other Kratos leaped forward and swung his sword. Lloyd blocked, but he was knocked backwards. "I am Kratos Aurion." He struck again. Once again, Lloyd was surprised by the ferocity and barely blocked. "I am one of the four Seraphim who guides this world!" He stuck again. They were at the edge of the roof now. "Who the hell do you think _you_ are, with those wings, and that sword!" He tried to strike again, but Lloyd parried the attack and began forcing the man backwards.

"Who do I think _I_ am?" Lloyd struck, and Kratos barely blocked. "I am Lloyd Irving, the Eternal Swordsman who reunited the world!" He struck again. "I am Lloyd Irving, who once before defeated Kratos Aurion and received his sword!" He struck again. Now they were at the edge of the hole above the party. "And although you may look like him, you are not Kratos Aurion! _You are not my dad_!"

"-Dad?" 'Kratos' gasped out as Lloyd hit again, and caused him to fall through the hole back into the large dance hall. Kratos activated his angelic wings at the last second, which slowed his fall, but he was still unable to catch himself. When he struggled to his feet, he saw _himself_, standing in a tuxedo, and looking at him quizzically.

"What?" The two Kratoses said in unison.

Lloyd flew back in and landed. "This man here is the real Kratos Aurion. The one who's actually my father. Now I don't know who you really are, but I defeated both the real Kratos, and Yggdrasil, so an impostor like you doesn't scare me!"

"...what?" The mercenary-clad Kratos gasped out again. "...You beat... Yggdrasil?" That might explain the wings... This young man also called himself the Eternal Swordsman... and was the world really reunited? Clearly he needed to investigate. Regaining his composure, this Kratos' blue wings flapped for a second, and then he turned into a small blue ball and teleported away. Let's see this strange boy do that!

Lloyd, of course, could not do so, and was forced to watch as the Other Kratos vanished.

"Okay, I'm clearly missing something. What are you guys talking about?" The Kratos in the tuxedo asked, completely lost.

It was at this point when Lloyd actually looked around the dance hall, and was appalled at what he saw. The whole place was wrecked!

"Great, there goes peaceful relations between the reunited worlds." Genis said, running up. "And who was that guy? He looked just like Kratos!"

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing." Raine said, approaching the spot where the Regeneration Heroes seemed to be gathering. "What happened, Lloyd?"

"I don't know." Lloyd said truthfully. "But that guy seemed to have the same attacks as the real Kratos. He could fly, and I think he tried to cast Judgement at one point."

"Wait, wait, wait." Kratos said. "I can _fly_? Why didn't anyone tell me this before?" He was about rush off to find some stairs, but he was stopped by Sheena and Yuan, who were making their way to the group as well. Both Sheena and Yuan had strange expressions on their faces, and Lloyd wasn't sure what either was thinking.

Zella reappeared next, followed by a dutiful-looking Presea. "Genis! There you are!" She made a beeline for Genis, but Sheena conveniently stepped towards Raine, which cut off her path. Zella pouted angrily.

"Raine... I think you need to check us for pollen." Sheena cut to the chase. It was a tough thing to admit, but if old effects truly were resurfacing, she might become a danger to the others, especially Lydia. Plus, having kissed Yuan, they needed to seek some sort of treatment right away.

"Why?" Raine said, cocking her head to the side.

"I... I just have a hunch that the Gardens might have effected us more than we thought." Sheena said.

At that point, Collete came running up. She was eying Regal interestedly, but she seemed even more intrigued by Lloyd's chest, exposed by the rip the other Kratos made in their fight. "Lloyd... you're... you're back to normal!"

Lloyd shrugged sheepishly. "Well, kinda. See, I-" But he was cut off by Colette, who let her impulses take over and started kissing Lloyd much more spiritedly than anyone would have expected. Lloyd quickly pushed her off, however. "Colette, no! I was trying to tell you that..." But he already could feel the effects. The entire room started spinning, and Lloyd felt his whole body go numb. "Not... again..." He fell to his knees, but didn't lose consciousness this time. Instead, after a few seconds, feeling returned, and Lydia struggled back to her feet. Ignoring the completely dumbfounded expressions of her team, which was understandable, considering they had just _watched_ the transformation, to an extent. "I was going to say that kissing changes me back and forth between the two."

"Um... I think we should talk about this more at Zelos' house." Genis said, suddenly bright red.

"Zella." Zella corrected him, but she too was distracted by something other than Genis for once.

"What is it?" Lydia asked.

" 'Lloyd.' " Raine began, eying the guest who were approaching. "You might want to... cover up."

Lydia looked confused. "What do you..." She then realized that Kratos had ripped a hole in her shirt, hadn't he? "O-oh!" She quickly grabbed the material and pulled it over her chest. "Y-yeah, I agree, let's go back to Zella's house."

* * *

"Interesting." Raine said, training her specially modified Magic Lens on Sheena. "It seems you were correct, Sheena. It's less plentiful than the substance that was in us last time, but there is a substantial amount of pollen inside of your body."

"I thought so." Sheena said with a grimace. "Everyone," She began. They were back at Zelos' mansion and were standing in a circle for Raine to examine. Wanting to keep their conditions (especially Zelos') secret, they dismissed the staff for the night. "...I think the Gardens somehow started to bring back the pollen effects from last time."

"Wait, wait." Lydia began. "Does that mean that you're..." She stopped, trying to find the right way to say it. "You know..."

Sheena turned red and nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Lydia. Right now it's still much less crazy than last time. I haven't had many plots to seduce you or anything like last time."

"_'Many'?_" Genis repeated, but Sheena continued.

"I think the effects are gradually growing, though." Sheena said, avoiding Lydia's gaze. "It's getting harder for me to control my... um... urges."

Lydia gulped, flashing back to the embarrassing incident in the Gardens. _Well, that would explain her weird actions in that pond. When I was affected, I didn't fight her advances, but I suppose they had to come from somewhere..._ Then she flashed further back to the dangerously obsessed Sheena in Altamira. "Wait, what do you mean by 'urges?'"

Sheena blushed. "Is it really that hard to figure out?"

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I'm liking the sound of it!" He flashed a lecherous smile that would have made Zelos proud.

"Are you forgetting that I'm you _daughter_?" Lydia snarled at Kratos.

A look of comprehension flashed across Kratos' face, and he immediately grimaced and shook his head. "I forgot about that. Ugh, never mind!" He looked at Sheena. "Of all the people for you do be lesbian for, it had to be my kid? Why couldn't it have been Zella or Raine? Or even Colette? Maybe then I could actually enjoy it!"

"Idiot Chosen!" Sheena shouted and clocked Kratos, not even realizing that her habitual statement was incorrect this time. She was clearly uncomfortable at the large amount of attention being given to her predicament and tried to change the subject. "Look, Raine, can you just examine everyone else?"

Raine nodded. "If effects from last time are resurfacing, and if it's only due to exposure to the Gardens, then Colette, Lydia, Kratos and myself will all need to be examined. However, I believe that it would be in our best interests to do so to everyone."

And so Raine set about examining everybody in the room. The half elf was shocked at the amount of people affected by some sort of magical plant or other. Some she expected, like Sheena, but others were far more surprising, namely Yuan, who hadn't even been to the Gardens with them! In fact _everyone _was infected to some extent, save for Genis and Regal. What surprised Raine, however, was what she saw when she examined Zella. Unlike everyone else, who seemed to only have magical pollen in their systems, the former Chosen had something else. Yes, the pollen was present, obviously from the same plant that changed Lloyd and Yuan's genders the last two times. Interestingly, though, there was some sort strange liquid present in Zella's veins. It was a pinkish color, but far to fluorescent to be natural, and it worried Raine to think what sort of effects it might have on her. That said, she didn't want to cause Zella to panic and bolt, so she kept the information to herself. She then looked over to Yuan, who had been surprisingly silent the entire time, acting strangely dazed. Raine worried it might be the result of some plant, but they didn't have time for that. "Yuan!"

Yuan looked as if he'd forgotten where he was, but he quickly recovered and turned to Raine. That shout was getting dangerously close to the sound of Ruin Mode. "Yes, what is it?"

"I want you to use Divine Purify on all of us, like last time." Raine explained.

"Wait a sec, Sis." Genis began. "That didn't even _work _last time, remember?"

Regal stepped forward. "While that may be true, it did help alleviate some of the symptoms while we searched for a real cure. Perhaps it will help us again this time." He looked at Raine, who was now noticeably shorter than she used to be. "I assume that was your logic."

"That's right." She affirmed.

Thus the heroes all began subjecting themselves to Yuan's spell, which, like last time, consisted of a powerful hit to the abdomen charged with mana. He moved around the circle of heroes, casting it on each of them, before laying them down onto one of Wilder Mansion's various couches. Colette and Raine went easily enough. Colette was considering resisting, but she was quickly knocked out by the spell before she could really do anything. Raine, of course, volunteered easily and Kratos didn't even know what was going on, but he did like the idea of curing his amnesia and therefore he was willing. Zella was next, who tried to get away, but was stopped by Lydia and Regal. It was Lydia's turn, but as she started to mentally prepare herself, the mansion doors swung open, loudly banging on the walls. The six remaining people swung around to see Neil, Governor General Neil from Palmacosta, of all people, standing at the doorway completely out of breath.

"T-there you all are." He panted out with a relieved expression. He barely even seemed to notice the four unconscious people, nor the blue-haired man about to strike a woman dressed suspiciously like Lloyd.

"Neil?" Lydia stepped towards him. "What's wrong?"

"Here, come sit down." Regal said, leading Neil towards a nearby armchair.

"No! There's to time for that!" Neil said, beginning to regain his breath. "I just received word from Palmacosta. We've been attacked!"

"Attacked?" The group gasped out.

Neil nodded furiously. "Yes! Reports seem to say that Magnius has returned!"

The room was silent as everyone gazed at Neil strangely.

"I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I've been told." Neil added.

"But that's impossible!" Genis exclaimed. "We killed Magnius! How could he be back?"

"Oh no." Presea said, far too calmly for the current situation. Everyone turned to her. "In the commotion I'd forgotten, but in the Gardens, Colette and I discovered replicas of the Grand Cardinals. But they were all unconscious, so I have no idea how Magnius could have gotten all the way here."

"We'll handle this, Governor General." Lydia said, heading out. "Genis, Regal! Since you two aren't infected by any plants, you should come with me. Presea, since you actually know about what's going on, you come along too so you can explain it to us."

"Who's this girl?" Neil whispered to Regal, subtly gesturing at Lydia. "And where's Lloyd? We could really use his help."

"I have a feeling Lloyd will be there to help as well." Regal answered cryptically. Then, he put a hand to his chin. "Interestingly, it seems Lydia is a better tactician the Lloyd was anyways." _I wonder why that is...  
_

"I'll come with you guys." Sheena said, stepping towards the group."

"No, Sheena, you probably shouldn't." Lydia said, trying not to sound awkward. "I mean, Presea probably shouldn't be coming either, but what she knows could be important. Just focus on getting yourselves cured, and then you guys can meet up with us, okay?"

Sheena clenched her fists, but nodded and said, "Okay."

With that, Lydia, Genis, Regal, and Presea ran outside, took their Rheairds from their wing packs. As they climbed aboard, Neil ran after them.

"Wait!" The man said. "Let me come with you. I need to get back to Palmacosta to help the citizens."

Lydia nodded understandingly. "Alright. Climb on to my Rheaird. Now let's go already!"

* * *

Sheena and Yuan were now alone in the mansion, with a plethora of unconscious party members, and the employees nowhere to be seen.

"Well Sheena, you're up." Yuan said, getting in his stance to cast the healing spell. "Ready? _Divine Puri-"_

"Wait." Sheena said, and Yuan stopped like a dog would heel at its master's feet. Something had just occurred to her. She slinked up close to the Seraph, putting her arms around him and keeping her lips just parted from his. She hadn't forgotten their accidental kiss with the magical lipstick. Yuan had been controlling it well, but he wouldn't be able to disobey her like this. "Maybe... maybe you shouldn't cure me. Not yet. You know... I kinda like it this way."

* * *

Kratos Aurion couldn't believe his eyes as he flew through the night sky. The world was _reunited?_ How did this happen? The entire planet once again resembled how it looked all those years ago. Additionally, he could no longer sense the mana of Derris-Kharlan. It was like the whole planetoid had vanished! Furthermore, despite being Origin's seal, he couldn't contact the summon spirit, nor could he find Mithos or Yuan! Speaking of Cruxis, the Tower of Salvation had somehow crumbled... And now there was another him and a boy with strange wings who claimed to be his son? _I don't have a son... do I?_

_

* * *

_

_This was pretty plot-heavy, wasn't it? I'll try for more funny next chapter, I promise! Also, next chapter will be out one week from now! (Wait, an actual deadline? What is this?)_

_Now, on that note, I've got some announcements of some things I'm going to try out here. First of all, I'm attempting (emphasis on _attempting_) to instigate a schedule here in order to prevent long amounts of time without updates. From now on, I'll be posting chapters bi-weekly (with the exception of the next one, which will be posted in only one week in order to make up for the wait), so we'll see how that works out. Furthermore, I've removed the subtitle from the story's title simply because it's been bothering me for a while. If enough people want it back I guess I'll restore it, but I don't really see a reason to at the moment._

_Finally, I'm thinking about getting some beta-readers, because, frankly, my stories are often peppered with stupid errors that just come from me rushing. If you're interested in beta-ing this, any of my other fics, or a super-secret upcoming Haruhi Suzumiya fic (been working on it on my spare time, but it's pretty short so it shouldn't interfere with this too much at its current stage), send me a PM. Of course, I'd be looking for a more in-depth look than a regular review, and, if you're up to it, I might request a look over of my earlier chapters, but on the bright side you'd get to read chapters early and maybe even get a say in the plot developments. Not sure if anyone is interested, but let me know if you are._

_Oh, and don't forget to review!  
_


	16. Showers, Shopping and Skirmishes

Gender Bending 2

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned are property of Namco.

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter as promised. I won't be around to post it tomorrow either, so you guys even get it a little early!

Chapter 16

"How could you forget to tell us this?" Lydia asked exasperatedly.

"I am sorry." Presea said, sounding pretty sincere, or at least by her usual standards. "There was so much going on that I it just ended up not seeming that important, especially because nothing important seemed to happen. We were more focused on finding the cure anyway."

"Cure, cure." Neil repeated, his arms around Lydia to prevent from falling off of the Rheaird. "Just what are you all so focused on trying to cure?"

The Regeneration Heroes eyed each other before Lydia reluctantly explained the situation.

Neil's eyes widened. "Wait... so that means you're-"

"Yep." Lydia said.

"I see. In that case, I apologize."

Lydia raised an eyebrow and looked back at Neil, or at least as much as she was able to from her current position. "Hm? What for?"

Neil turned a little red. "Just for some things I thought upon first meeting you."

The entire group sighed. This was become far too common an occurrence. _Is _every _man_ _like this? _Lydia thought to herself._ I swear I wasn't like that_,_ was I? _Although it wasn't too bad... after all, Neil was pretty attractive... She caught herself._ No, no. No thinking like that!_ Her musing was interrupted by a loud explosion on the ground far below them. The four Rheairds all jerked as their pilots involuntarily reacted to the noise.

"What in the world was that?" Genis asked, bringing his machine more or less to a stop, letting it hover in the sky.

"Judging from the geography, it appeared to come from Hima." Regal deduced, casting his eyes about. Rheairds were still by far the fastest method of transport, but they still took time to make large trips, especially now that the world was twice it's original size... Raine has once theorized that the planet's gravity had remained unaffected due to some Cruxis meddling when the two worlds first split, but that was neither here nor there. The point was, they had been flying for some time, and it was now early in the day, which made it much easier for them to get their bearings on their location. Down on the ground, they could make out the sounds of various high-level spells.

"Should we check it out?" Lydia asked.

"But what about Palmacosta?" Genis responded.

"I do need to get back as soon as possible." Neil reminded them.

Regal sighed. "Well then, as much as I hate to suggest it, especially considering how thin we've spread ourselves already, but perhaps we should split up? Genis and I could go investigate the trouble down in Hima and then meet you two in Palmacosta."

Lydia nodded. "Right. I don't like it either, but you do have a point." She angled her Rheaird back in the direction of Palmacosta. "Come on Presea."

"Right." Presea answered, following him as Genis and Regal angled their vehicles downward.

* * *

"Gravity Well!"

"Negative Gate!"

Genis and Regal touched down and observed two men engaged in a magic duel. The rest of Hima's adventurers must not have been as brave as they always proclaimed, because they were nowhere to be found. Instead, it seemed a single man who looked just a bit like Zelos (probably due to his long red hair) in glasses was trying to fight off the attacks of his foe. As for his opponent, the instant the pair recognized him, Regal clenched his fists in barely concealed fury.

"Rodyle." Regal growled.

"So I guess the Grand Cardinals really are back." Genis observed rather unnecessary. "Well what are we waiting for? We should help that guy!"

Regal nodded. "I agree completely." He was able to answer before he charged forward with ferocity Genis had rarely seen in him before.

"Rodyle is so screwed." Genis said, beginning the incantation for Indignation.

* * *

"Ugh... did anyone get the number of that Elemental Cargo?" Zella mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her head. She was immediately greeted with the vision of her expansive mansion living room, and noticed the unconscious forms of Raine, Collete, Kratos, Sheena and Yuan sprawled across various couches. Judging from the light streaming through the windows, it was clearly morning, and, for a moment, she was stumped as to how she'd gotten there. Soon enough, however, she began to remember the events of the previous night. Zella noticed that she hadn't changed back to Zelos, but she wasn't all that surprised by the turn of events, given the fact that Yuan's spell didn't cure Lydia back in the Ymir Forest last time. She also found it interesting to note that she wasn't particularly thrilled or disappointed at the turn of events. Wobbling to her feet, she started wandering about the house. Eerily, nobody else was there. She checked the upstairs rooms to be sure, but the other half of their party was strangely missing. _Where did everyone else go?_ There was no Lydia, Regal, Presea or... Ge...nis...?

At the mere thought of his name, Zella suddenly felt her immense attraction for the boy resurface, only for another, much less pleasant feeling to almost immediately drown it out. Charging into the closest bathroom, Zella barely managed to make it to the toilet in time before vomiting.

"Ugh..." Zella muttered, wiping her mouth. She was further worried by the what she saw in the bowl. _Whatever_ she had thrown up, it was florescent pink. In fact, it almost seemed to be glowing... _I really hope that was just some from weird plant in the Gardens and not a terrible disease or something. _As she stood and ran her hands through her long hair, she was annoyed to see that some of the pink liquid - whatever it was - had gotten in her hair. _Well, I suppose I'd better wash up before I do anything else. _

It was only when she started to undress that Zella realized that she was still wearing her incredibly revealing outfit from the party. _Man, I may not be the most modest person ever, but to wear that to one of the King's parties... _She paused to examine herself in the mirror. _I mean, what am I, a dominatrix? _Speaking of which, what had compelled her to wear it anyways?

_That's right, _She thought as she stepped into the shower. _I was doing it to impress Genis, wasn't I?_ That just further confused her. _Wait... why would I do _that_? _She caught sight of the pink substance that still flecked her hair. She gulped. "Oh."

* * *

Kratos awoke when he rolled off of his couch and landed on the hard floor. "Oof!" As he got to his feet, he tried to remember how he'd gotten there, and why he had such a throbbing headache. After a little thought, he recalled most of the events from the previous night, although parts of it were a little hazy due to the alcohol. What he did remember was that he'd been attempting to get his amnesia cured. _Did it work? _He quickly tried to think back to anything before recent events, but still came up with nothing. In fact, it only made his head hurt more. That, combined with the much-too-bright sun shining in through the large window, Kratos' hangover was giving him a lot of grief. _Dang, I guess I still don't have my memory back._ He stumbled up the main stairs which, although still bright, took him out of the sun's direct rays and allowed him a little respite.

The amnesiac Seraph grit his teeth. His head was still killing him! He decided to a wet washcloth might make him feel better, so he quickly set out looking for a bathroom. After first stumbling across a couple of rooms, he finally found a bathroom. However, that wasn't really what he noticed.

Instead, Kratos was to busy staring at the very attractive, very _naked_ Zella, who was just stepping out of the shower. The two just looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions for a few moments, before Zella attempted to jump back behind the shower curtain, but slipped on the wet porcelain and fell rather painfully to the floor. "Kratos, what are you _doing_?" Admittedly, Zella might not have been so panicked about being peeked on (besides, she was certain many potential hunnies had done so when she was a man), but the still relatively recent gender change combined with her embarrassing infatuation with Genis was leaving her a lot more humility than usual.

"Uh... um..." Kratos said, staring at the beautiful woman in front of him. He suddenly had an idea. He adopted his most innocent expression. "I'm sorry. Is it _wrong _to see people naked? I just can't remember-"

"You're amnesiac, not a child." Zella said with a deadpan expression as she simultaneously tried to climb to her feet and remain as covered as possible. "Now _get out_!"

* * *

"Well, that was pretty easy." Genis said as he, Regal and the red-haired man examined Rodyle's corpse.

"It certainly helps that he didn't transform into a monster this time." Regal agreed, his calm expression returning.

The red-haired man turned to them. Although he had long hair, he actually seemed to resemble Kratos more than Zelos. Genis decided it was the no-nonsense expression on his face. "Thank you for your help." The man said. He was clearly tired from the fight. "I not sure if I would have been able to defeat him all on my own." He paused and looked at Regal. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you you Regal Bryant of the Lezerano Corporation?"

Regal nodded politely. "Yes, you are right. But I'm afraid I do not recognize you. Have we met?"

The man shook his head very slightly in order to avoid whipping his hair around like a maniac. "No, I've only heard of you. My name is Richter Abend. I'm a researcher from Sybak."

"I see." Regal said, holding out his hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm glad we could help out."

The man looked at his hand for a second, as if unsure about what to do in such a situation, but it quickly passed as he grabbed the blue-haired man's hand to shake. "And who is your half-elf friend? He's quite the talented spellcaster."

"My name's Genis Sage." Genis responded with a wide grin. "And you're a half-elf too, aren't you?"

Richter nodded, but his expression was cold. "Indeed I am, although I usually don't talk about it often. I don't consider it an important characteristic of mine."

Genis immediately felt bad about bringing it up. If this man was from Sybak, he would of course be a little sore about people thinking of his race as a defining characteristic.

They all stood there silently for a minute, until Richter spoke up. "Now if you excuse me, this town doesn't seem to have the information I was looking for. I must be off."

"If you're looking for information," Genis began, hoping to make up for offending the man, "Palmacosta is probably the place to go. It's still being rebuilt, but it's home to the largest academy on Sylvarant." Richter raised an eyebrow and Genis continued. "In fact, we're heading that way right now. Would you like us to take you?' He gestured towards the Rheairds they'd left where they landed. After all, with the fighting, there hadn't been enough time to store them. "I'm sure flying is better than walking."

Richter grunted.

* * *

Kratos descended the stairs back into the living room and saw that everyone else had awoken and were staring at him with expressions ranging from amusement to frustration. "What, uh... what are you all look at?"

Sheena shook her head in mild annoyance. "Really, Kratos? Peeking on girls in the shower? I wouldn't have expected it from you, even like this." She smiled slightly in a bemused fashion. "Although it's nice to have Zelos get a taste of his own medicine."

Kratos flushed. "I guess that means you heard us."

"A_ TASTE_ of my own medicine?" They heard Zella's muffled voice rage from the bathroom above. "This whole thing's been a humiliation conga for me!"

"It didn't seem like you felt that way at last night's party!" Colette yelled back up with a laugh.

Raine sighed. "It seems that, judging from Colette and Kratos' uncharacteristic actions in the last, oh, two minutes, that Divine Purify failed to fully cure us. Again." She crossed her arms in thought. "But at least it seems that Zella is more or less back to the way she was before our trip to the Gardens." She paused. "However, a much more pressing question is _what_, exactly, happened to the others?"

"Oh, I can field that one." Sheena said, raising her hand. Everyone turned to her. "Uh, essentially, Magnius is back and attacked Palmacosta. The other Grand Cardinals may have revived as well." The entire group, save the amnesiac Kratos, and Yuan who'd already heard, immediately went into a frenzy. Sheena quickly held up her hands to calm them down. "Now hold on. Magnius was the weakest of the Grand Cardinals. I'm sure the other four can handle him. We should probably get our bearings first."

Raine nodded. "That's actually an excellent idea." She quickly produced her special Magic Lens and set about examining the others, as well as herself. "From the looks of things, everyone seems to be relatively unchanged, save myself." She was actually very relieved to have her old mental clarity back and to not be swarmed with the hormones of adolescence that had already begun to show themselves before the treatment. "I suppose the reverse aging pollen must be more susceptible to magic than the others, considering the fact that it is the only one of the afflictions that was successfully cured by it both times. It's a shame I didn't get to study it more." She looked around. "It seems the only person left here to examine is Zella. I wonder where...?"

"I'm right here." Zella said, uncharacteristically meekly, descending the stairs in only a towel with a bright red face.

Raine raised her eyebrow. "Zella, where are your clothes?"

Zella flushed more. "I left them in Altamira."

"What about that.. outfit you were wearing last night?" Colette asked with a snicker.

"I'd rather not." Zella said.

"You could wear one of the maid outfits lying around here." Sheena suggested with a smirk. She and Colette high-fived.

Raine reached into her bag and handed Zella a spare change of her own clothing. "Here, how about this? The rest of us will head to Palmacosta, while Sheena will take you to get some new clothes. Then you can meet us there."

"H-hey, why do I have to take her shopping?" Sheena asked with a flush. Even as Zella, she still didn't like the red-headed ex-Chosen very much.

"To put it simply, I'd rather keep you and Lydia separate as much as possible." Raine said in a no-nonsense tone. "After all, the examination says you weren't cured."

"Right, right." Sheena grumbled, secretly wishing she'd hidden that Magic Lens while everyone else had actually been unconscious.

* * *

"Ahahahaha! Pathetic vermin!" Magnius shouted, setting fire to a group of buildings and watching the inhabitants flee through the doors, or, in the case of those on the second stories, leap into the Palmacosta harbor to avoid the flames. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" He turned his attention to the citizens foolish to exit the ground floors onto the street. "Ah, more vermin." He grinned, swinging his large axe towards them to cast Eruption. The smell of burning humans was always strangely intriguing to Magnius.

"Hey you... you bastard! Leave them alone!" Shouted a voice. Magnius looked away from his targets and layed his eyes on a blond boy, he couldn't have been more than sixteen, clumsily holding a sword in both of his hands. It was clear he had no idea what he was doing with it. "Leave our city _alone_!"

In a flash, Magnius was upon the boy and hit him with the broadside of his axe. It wouldn't do to kill this impudent human _too _quickly. "_What_ did you call me, vermin?" The boy dropped the sword and fell to the ground in pain. "It sounded like you called me a 'bastard.'" He kicked him in the stomach. This human was going to suffer before he died. "It's _Lord Magnius_ to you!"

The boy coughed up a bit of blood. "Magnius is dead." He spat defiantly. "L...Lloyd Irving and... and the Chosen and their friends killed him."

Magnius had no idea what this fool was talking about, but he wouldn't stand for somebody throwing around such lies. The Chosen? Kill him? Not likely!

"Hey you! Leave him alone!" Yelled a voice, female this time, unknowingly echoing the boy's earlier shout. Magnius groaned. Most of the guards were dead and all the other humans were trying to flee. Who else would try to challange him? Magnius stomped on the boy's stomach to keep him in place, and looked to see a teenage girl, her long brown hair in two large pigtails. In one hand she held a strange circular blade. She was clearly injured, clutching her arm in pain.

"You again?" Magnius said with a bored expression. "I thought I already put you down. Don't worry, you'll have your turn after this little piece of..." He looked back towards the boy in time to see him drive his previously discarded sword into Magnius' leg. Magnius let out a howl of pain before kicking the boy one last time in the stomach before bringing up his axe to behead him. "_I'll kill you!_"

"Double Demon Fang!"

Magnius jumped out of the way of the twin shockwave, but in doing so lost his opportunity to kill the whelp.

"Who..." The boy coughed.

"...are they?" Finished the girl.

Standing on the other side of the square was a brown-haired young woman wearing a fancy white suit with twin ribbons hanging off the neck. The shirt had been seemingly cut across the center, causing it to open like a jacket. Underneath, she seemed to have fashioned what looked like some bandages into a way to preserve her modesty. In one hand she held a bright orange sword, while an aqua blue one was in her other.

With her was another girl, although this one was much smaller. Her pink hair was in pigtails, and she was wearing a fancy dress, as if she had just come from a party. Ridiculously, she was also carrying a gigantic axe that she really shouldn't have been able to carry. Someone might have commented on the juxtaposition if Magnius himself didn't also have a similar weapon, and if so many lives weren't at stake.

"Magnius, you're not going to hurt _anyone _else!" The girl with the swords snarled.

* * *

"How's this?" Zella asked, stepping out of the changing room. Even though her thoughts were preoccupied, Sheena's couldn't help but be appalled.

"There's a little thing we like to call feminine modesty." Sheena said sarcastically, feeling a bead of sweat slide down her neck due to frustration.

"Hey, that's not fair." Zella said, putting her hands on her hips. "This is _way_ less revealing than what I had on at the party!"

"Not really. Besides, you were drugged by a crazy plant, remember?"

"Look, I know _so _many women who dress this way!" Zella continued, gesturing to the corset and miniskirt she had on.

"I don't doubt that." Sheena said, rolling her eyes. "But _normal _women tend to leave a little... okay, a _lot_ more to the imagination."

"Like you?" Zella asked with a smirk. Sheena blushed and pulled her purple kimono across her chest.

"Y-you know what I mean! Find something more appropriate, And hurry up!"

"Fine, fine."

* * *

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Magnius growled at his attacker. "I'd like to see you back up those threats, wench!"

Lydia got in her fighter's stance. Wench was a new one. Didn't Magnius like to call everyone 'Vermin?' She secretly wished she'd changed into her ordinary clothes before rushing off, as the torn Nobleman outfit was severely limiting her movement. At least she'd been able to fashion what had been her (previously torn) chest bindings into a way to prevent herself from exposing her chest to everyone she fought. She probably should have turned back into Lloyd before rushing into the city as well, although kissing Presea or Neil would have been awkward in either situation. She shook her head. Now was not the time!

"Aw, look at the poor vermin, she's scared!" Magnius laughed, charging.

"Scared?" Lydia repeated with a smirk. Magnius had always been the weakest of the Grand Cardinals, and if these were clones from the past, they probably were even weaker then the last time they fought. Lydia confirmed this by parrying Magnius' axe with the Vorpal Sword and stabbing him in the chest with Flamberg. Magnius slid down on the sword, further impaling himself until his head was right next to Lydia's. "I told you. I _will not_ let you hurt anyone else." She said into his ear before twisting and allowing Magnius to slide off of the weapon. The hole in his chest was, ironically, being licked by some residual flames from Flamberg.

Magnius made a gurgling sound, and died.

* * *

Sheena sighed as she waited for Zella to finish trying on yet another set of clothes. How many outfits had they gone through now? Too many, that was for sure. In the meantime, Sheena found herself fantasizing about Lydia. However, she no longer felt embarrassed anymore by it. No, she reveled in the thoughts, and an opportunity to ensnare Lydia's body and soul. However, she was wary about using the magic lipstick again. It was just too dangerous, as it seemed to magnetically draw unwanted lips to whoever was wearing it. She was also slightly worried about the effect the lipstick would have on Lydia. Even if they could avoid the annoying gender-switch by kissing dilemma, using it on another woman seemed to be bit of a risk.

The summoner held no illusion that her feelings for Lydia were caused by anything but their magical kiss, and boy, had is certainly been _magical_, and she even admitted that the lipstick had made her sort of devious. She smirked at the thought. Regardless, it seemed to turn any _men _kissed into doting idiots. She wondered why she hadn't gotten just some sort of schoolgirl crush instead of turning into what she was now. Sheena concluded that since the lipstick, especially the original, more potent batch, was designed to be used by _women _on _men_, it was probably marketed as a way to turn any prospective husband into a loving fool.

Still, that didn't explain why _she _was acting like this. It probably was just because the lipstick, or at least the original set, was not designed to be used on women (a huge oversight on the merchant's part, she reflected, since that would cut down his potential market, but that wasn't important now), but Sheena wasn't sure how Lydia would turn out afterward. Especially since she was kinda half-man, half-woman.

What she needed was a way to ensnare her _heart_, a way to make her into more than the sex-manic she might become if they kissed (although, Sheena wouldn't really mind _that _much), she needed something more powerful than elven plants or human inventions. She froze. _Heart... of course!_ She was a summoner, and there was a Summon Spirit of the Heart, wasn't there? _That's right... Corrine turned into Verius..._ She smirked. If anything had the power to lock Lydia permanently as a woman while also making her fall in love with her, it would be Verius! Sheena's smirk grew wider. It looked like it was time to pay a visit to her old friend! Now if only Zella would hurry up...

"What about now? How does _this _look?" Zella asked wearily, once again stepping out of the dressing room, dressed in a pink blouse and white skirt that, for once, was not unbelievably short. She'd even adorned her clothes with some of Zelos' other accessories, like the gloves. She might still be showing a lot of skin in the chest area, but Sheena didn't really care at this point. _It __was still better than everything else she'd tried._ Sheena reflected.

"Good enough." She said absentmindedly. "Go pay, and then head to Palmacosta. I'll meet you there soon. There's... something I need to take care of."

With that, she high-tailed it out of there before the ex-Chosen could ask any questions.

* * *

_Gah... this story is getting _such_ Cerebus Syndrome. I tried to make sure there was some humor in this chapter, especially since it was still plot heavy, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. Oh, and can you tell I never liked Rodyle that much? I didn't realize until after writing this chapter that he didn't even get a single speaking line besides calling out a spell._

_And hey look at that, I made the deadline! It's even the longest chapter yet, too. Awesome! Of course, the real challange will be if I make the next one, although I'm feeling pretty confident at this point. Please review! They're what keep me motivated!_


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